The Gallatin City Council Committee voted April 8 to forward a preliminary master development plan (PMDP) for a Wawa convenience store and fuel site on Long Hollow Pike to the full City Council for final consideration.

The PMDP covers a 3.53‑acre portion of a parcel south of Long Hollow Pike and west of Greenlee Boulevard. The plan calls for a 6,374‑square‑foot convenience/food service building with drive-through, 10 fuel pumps under a canopy, and EV charging areas. City planner Brian Rose said the site is already zoned MU, so no rezoning is required; a conditional use permit is needed for the drive‑through and convenience sales.

Planning staff noted the site borders a FEMA floodplain at the rear of the property; the applicant said only a small portion of a southern driveway encroaches on the floodplain and that a floodplain development permit would be required if work occurs within the special flood hazard area. The applicant also requested an exception to a design requirement that canopies have pitched roofs compatible with adjacent buildings, arguing Wawa’s canopy is a trademarked element of its brand.

Members pressed the applicants on driveway placement and grading. Councilman Cheevan said he favored the commercial use but criticized the proposed rear access aligned with a nursery and with a church driveway, predicting conflict during church peak times. Rose and engineering staff said access placement reflects minimum separation requirements from the nearby interchange; engineering advised against allowing access directly onto Greenlee Boulevard because of proximity to the intersection.

Representatives for the landowner and Wawa told the committee the site grading will involve cut at the intersection and fill toward the back of the lot so the building and parking can be constructed without raising the entire site to intersection grade, and that the design includes detention and required water‑quality measures. Cal Gentry of Civil Land Company said, “we will actually be cutting down at the intersection and then, filling towards the back of the lot… We don't have any problems getting the work done in and around the floodplain.”

Council members also discussed nearby TDOT work on the SR‑386 corridor and a condition in the planning recommendation requiring the applicant to coordinate with TDOT on driveway and access details. Vice Mayor Hayes said the city has ongoing discussions with TDOT and that while the highway project could affect the site in the long term, the development could be in operation for many years before any TDOT construction reached the property.

A motion by Vice Mayor Hayes, seconded by Councilman Carter, carried to forward the PMDP to the council. The committee recorded the item as moving forward to the full council by a 4‑1 margin.

The council will consider the PMDP (Ordinance 02504‑21) next; the applicant will be required to obtain any floodplain development permits and the conditional use permit and to work with TDOT on driveway design as conditions of approval.

Votes at the committee stage and the required next steps were recorded at the meeting.