Cookeville Planning Studying Truck Stop, Gas Codes

The Cookeville Planning Commission will consider ordinance amendments defining truck stops, automobile and truck field centers, and gasoline and motor fuel retail.

Economic and Community Development Director Jon Ward said the city recently received several calls from developers asking about potential gas facility locations.

“We are just looking to clarify some of that language in our code for some of the issues that are coming up relative to fuel stations,” Ward said. “Whether it has a truck fueling component, or you know whether it’s a full-on truck stop, or whether it’s just automobile fuel.”

Truck stops can offer a variety of things outside of just fuel. Ward said the code needs to be clear so they can define uses and if they are appropriate.

“You know when you think of a truck stop you think of larger-scale things,” Ward said. “It usually will even offer repair services, they offer you know different services relative to the establishment, like I said the lounges and different facilities related to that. We don’t have that currently defined in our code so we are looking to firm the language up and clarify some things based on some of the questions that are coming through.”

The Planning Department took the issue for study in June. One option being considered auto and truck fuel centers in the Commercial Industrial Mixed-Use Zoning District as a permitted use.