Local

Residents fight gas station's alcohol sales

ATLANTA — Residents in two different midtown Atlanta neighborhoods are trying to stop a gas station with 24-hour alcohol sales from being built.

A Shell station closed at the corner of Peachtree Road and Peachtree Circle, but now the developer wants to have a new gas station with retail space behind it.

The old Shell used to be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., which Ansley Park and Sherwood Forest neighbors didn't have a problem with. They said a 24-hour station would bring several problems.

"Having a 24-7 station selling wine and beer, we are very afraid that it will increase people coming here and loitering in our neighborhood," said Ansley Park resident Jane Harmon.

Ansley Park and Sherwood Forest residents take pride in their neighborhood's low crime rate and don't want that threatened.

"Last year, we won (recognition as) one of the top 10 neighborhoods in the U.S. The reason is because of our security and low crime rate," said Harmon.

Harmon and her neighbors have done their research into gas stations along Peachtree Road that sell beer and wine 24 hours a day.

"We've spoken to other neighborhoods that have these issues, and loitering is their No. 1 issue," said Christopher Jones, who lives near the entrance to Sherwood Forest.

Jones is the chair of the Ansley Park Zoning and Land Use Committee. He said the station would violate Atlanta's zoning rule, that states alcohol cannot be sold within 300 feet of any private residence.

"There's a discrepancy to be taken as well," Jones said after looking into the measurements.

"We need a landscape buffer that reduces the visibility of the project from the neighborhood," said Jones.

Jere Wells' home falls within 300 feet of where the gas station and retail development would be built.

"My momma used to say nothing good happens after midnight and there would be an awful lot of something happening after midnight if we had constant coming and going with people buying beer or wine or whatever. If there is a long-term relationship that is at stake here, we need to make sure that the property owner is very mindful of the nature of this neighborhood," explained Wells.

Channel 2 reached out to Dewberry Capital, which owns the land, Wednesday morning but received no response.