The Stockbridge council has approved revisions to the city’s gas station standards. The revised standards also reduce the city’s distance buffer requirement.
Stockbridge Gas Station Standards
New gas stations interested in building within the city of Stockbridge have new standards they must follow. Those new standards include the following:
- A gasoline service station must be located on a property which has frontage on either a collector or an arterial road, as is classified by the Georgia Department of Transportation or the Henry County Department of Transportation.
- Gasoline service stations are allowed with the base zoning district of C-3 (Heavy Commercial District). Gasoline service stations are also allowed in the C-2 (General Commercial District) via a Special Use Permit.
- Building facades for both primary and accessory structures must be constructed of brick on all sides.
- At gasoline service stations, an equal number of electric charging stations as gas pumps must be provided on the site. Covered canopies must be provided over gas pumps and electric charging stations.
- The square footage of a gasoline service station must be at least 5,000 square feet.
- The gasoline service station must have suites to accommodate two sub-tenants.
The council approved the revised standards at their February 10, 2025 meeting.
Buffer Requirement
In addition, the council revised the gas station buffer requirement. A new gas station must now be at least 800′ from an existing service station. This requirement was previously 4,500′. The below map compares the two buffer requirements:
The reduced buffer significantly opens up more of the city for possible service stations.
Other Buffer Requirements
Stockbridge has buffer requirements for several other business types. They include the following:
- Hair salons and barbershops,
- Nail salons,
- Tire shops,
- Pawn, title lending and cash for title shops,
- Vaper shops,
- Thrift stores and consignment shops,
- Auto shops,
- Used appliances shops, and
- Tattoo shops.
The city code requires one mile of separation for these businesses. They adopted these requirements in October 2019. Finally, there’s a five-mile requirement for small-box discount stores.
Comparison to Other Cities
Stockbridge has the most extensive commercial buffer requirements in Henry County. However, other cities are starting to adopt them. McDonough passed a one-mile buffer requirement on gas stations in January. This effectively prohibits new service stations within the city. They also adopted buffer requirements for auto repair shops, car washes, hotels, vape stores and small-box discount stores.
Finally, Hampton is considering a similar one-mile buffer for gas stations. The council passed the first reading for the new requirement in February. They will consider the second and final adoption in March.
Featured image shows the existing gas stations within Stockbridge and the 800′ buffer requirement. Clayton Carte / The Henry Reporter map created with Datawrapper.
