The Kwik Trip site plan was unanimously approved at Tuesday's Sturgeon Bay Common Council meeting, but only after a long discussion about the driveway and with several stipulations attached to the consideration.   

During public comments, three Green Bay Road business owners and one resident expressed how a subsequently raised median on Highway 42/57 would negatively impact businesses.  Mayor David Ward, Administrator Josh VanLieshout, and Sturgeon Bay council members hashed out the issues facing the city regarding a proposed driveway on the Kwik Trip property that would access Highway 42/57.

The city had come up with five options, all of which were turned down by the Department of Transportation last Wednesday, that included speed reduction, a right-enter-only driveway, installing the median later, and a partial median or a seasonal median.  Mayor Ward said that the raised median was going to be triggered in the future, regardless if Kwik Trip’s project was completed or not due to the DOT's concerns over the congestion of traffic on Highway 42/57.

The Council approved the site plan with four conditions: 1) Kwik Trip allows driveway access for Destination Door County and Verlo Mattress Parcel; 2) Requires Kwik Trip to allow freight deliveries to Sturgeon Bay Metal Products and other businesses to go through (their) property in order to reach Duluth Avenue for left turn back onto the highway for truck access; 3) Requires dedication of the right of way from Kwik Trip for future connection to South Ashland Avenue;  4) Directs Finance Committee to consider an amendment to the TID 7 plan, acquiring and improving right of way on private roads between North Duluth Avenue and the Target Store/North Ashland Avenue.

In other business, the council approved two second readings regarding an ordinance that bans outdoor wood-burning furnaces and rezoning for the property at 11 Green Bay Road