- April 1, 2025
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In February, Ormond Beach resident Amber Bobak received a neighborhood meeting notice for a Circle K gas station, to be constructed about 400 feet away from her home.
She, along with several of her neighbors, attended the Feb. 10 meeting. The gas station is proposed to be constructed at the former Bank of America building at 699 S. Nova Road, and the Circle K filed an application with the city in October 2024.
The property falls under the city's B-8 Commercial zoning district, and a convenience store with fueling stations is a conditional use — meaning, it does not require City Commission approval to move forward, only review and action by the Site Plan Review Committee.
Bobak said she and other residents were hoping to voice their concerns about the project at the neighborhood meeting but that they were treated like the meeting was held as a courtesy to them.
"They basically came in with their big prints going, 'Oh, it's going to be so pretty. You're going to love it,'" Bobak said. "Nothing was negotiable. Any discussions we asked, concerns we had, they pretty much were just like, 'Yeah, whatever.'"
Bobak created a petition on Feb. 11, to oppose the project. The petition has been signed 128 times, and lists concerns such as increased traffic, environmental risks like groundwater contamination and a decrease in property values.
Collins Street, where she resides, is already used as a common cut-through street. Bobak said the Circle K gas station, whose gas pumps are being proposed to be aligned down Hand Avenue instead of Nova Road, will worsen the situation.
Neighbors were also concerned that adding the gas station will increase the number of transients in the area, and that the gas station would pose a longterm health risk for residents living nearby.
Plus, there are two existing gas stations across the street — the Mobil at 690 S. Nova Road and the Exxon at 700 S. Nova Road. The addition of the Circle K would make three gas stations at the same intersection.
City Planning Director Steven Spraker said in an email to the Observer that the Circle K project has provided two submittals to the SPRC, and outstanding review comments would require a re-submittal.
These comments include adhering to certain landscaping, site access and buffer wall requirements.
On Feb. 18, Bobak spoke at the Ormond Beach City Commission meeting and, speaking on behalf of her neighborhood, shared her concerns with the project and asked the city review its zoning districts that abut residential areas.
If a property being redeveloped requires a complete structural change, Bobak said, the project should go before the City Commission for review.
"You can't just, because you check a box, be able to uproot people's lives like that," she said.
The B-8 zoning district has a slew of uses. Permitted ones range from adult day care centers and offices to financial institutions and public schools. Conditional uses include bowling centers, multifamily dwellings, churches, restaurants and a shopping center, to name a few.
As Bobak, who has also met with the SPRC, was reviewing the zoning district, she found that a permitted use under B-8 zoning is a "sexually oriented business."
As part of the city's Comprehensive Plan update, the Planning Board reviewed the B-8 zoning district at a meeting on June 13, 2024. No modifications were recommended, Spraker said.
"The City Commission has provided direction to Planning staff to review the convenience store with fueling stations use, specifically to analyze a distance separation requirement from residential uses," Spraker said. "The review would start as a discussion item for the Planning Board review."
Bobak said she hopes that her petition and her involvement leads to making a difference for future projects.
"I know that what I've requested as far as looking into the zoning for residential won't apply to this specific project, but I am hoping that we can implement something that will help protect residential homes in the future," Bobak said. "Nobody needs a gas station next to their house."
At the neighborhood meeting, Bobak asked project representatives to keep her in the loop regarding the development.
"They highlighted my name with a star and said, 'Let her know when approved,'" Bobak said.
The Observer reached out to Circle K but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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