Cookeville Updating Definition Of Truck Stops

The Cookeville Planning Commission has adjusted the way the zoning code defines truck stops, fuel centers, and fuel retail locations.

Community Development Director Jon Ward said the main change is the addition of diesel fuel in the products that can be sold by retail gas locations. Ward said the small details are important because they have had several proposals from companies looking to provide truck fueling services in the city.

“They claim they’re not truck stops, but they do have aspects in their development where they provide fuel stations for trucks,” Ward said. “So we were trying to add some clarifications to the zoning code to insert some definitions to make clear distinctions between what would be a truck stop.”

Ward said the main thing determining whether a location is a fuel center or a truck stop is the services they provide with truck stops typically having things like shower facilities, mechanic services, lounges, and long-term parking.

“Obviously we’ve seen the impacts trucks can have in certain areas with some of the fueling centers we’ve had here for many years,” Ward said. “So we’re trying to make a distinguishment from defining these in the zoning code and determining the zones where it would be a suitable use to have truck fuel centers but not a full truck stop.”

Ward said they also clarified that fuel centers are meant for both passenger vehicles and commercial trucks. Ward said the change expanded the definition of a truck stop to explain that they are built for truck drivers who may be on the road for a long time and therefore need more extensive services to accommodate them.

“We brought these changes to the planning commission at their July meeting, but there was discussion with some concerns about not including diesel fuel at automobile fuel centers ’cause some passenger vehicles utilize diesel fuel,” Ward said. “So we’ve made some tweaks to those definitions to get a re-review from the planning commission.”

The city council will vote to approve the amendments to the zoning code on Thursday, September 5.