Neighbors weigh lawsuit after Columbia board OKs gas station on North Main
With less than 30 days to decide whether to sue, North Main residents gathered Monday night at Earlewood Park Community Center to talk strategy: how could they push against a Murphy USA gas station widely opposed by neighbors that city officials just OK’ed for the gateway intersection at Sunset Drive and North Main Street.
Columbia’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved the 16-pump Murphy plan Feb. 5, granting a special exception for a gas station and convenience store at the prominent corner, despite rejecting similar plans for a Circle K in 2023.
Neighborhood critics of the plan say they’re now weighing a court appeal to challenge the city board’s ruling, a move that could cost thousands of dollars. At the same time, residents say they feel misled about the fate of a title loan office currently on the corner, which developers said would be removed, but which city officials confirmed will instead be rebuilt. Talk of a redevelopment that would help shift the corridor toward something more walkable, vibrant and connected has percolated for years — a vision reinforced by city design plans, a major streetscaping project and fresh retail momentum bringing new restaurants, cafés and other small businesses that have slowly reshaped parts of North Main.
Putting a gas station at the corner is a step back from that vision, residents say.
At the neighborhood meeting Monday night, Hyatt Park/Keenan Terrace neighborhood association president Bob Petrulis repeated advice he said stuck with him: “If you don’t fight bad proposals, the developers will think you don’t care, and they’ll keep bringing bad proposals to your neighborhood.”
Another resident said that even if neighbors lose in court, “it sort of puts everybody on the notice that we are paying attention.”
Residents have 30 days from Monday, the date the decision was mailed out, to file an appeal, attendees said.
What will happen to “unsightly” title loan office?
While residents argued the gas station conflicts with long-standing goals for the North Main corridor, the developer urged Columbia’s Board of Zoning Appeals to see the decision in starker terms: accept the Murphy USA project, or keep the corner as it is — anchored by what he called an “unsightly” title loan office.
Developer Jason Stern, representing Murphy USA, made that case explicitly in his Feb. 5 testimony, telling the board: “We also believe that you have a decision to make tonight. Do you want to have a redevelopment and an enhancement of this intersection, or do you want it to remain exactly how it is today, which is the status quo of this title loan business and building on this property again?”
He also said Murphy USA would be “a far superior product” to other nearby convenience stores. Stern described the title loan office as an “eyesore,” and contrasted the Murphy plan with the earlier Circle K proposal the board rejected in 2023.
“Circle K was planning to develop around this title loan building that’s currently on the corner,” Stern said. “That is the opposite of what we’re trying to do. And we are taking this building out.”
But residents say they have now learned the title loan building will be rebuilt, though it’s not immediately clear where.
The property, currently owned by SC Capital Properties LLC, will be subdivided, with the gas station going on the portion of the site nearest the intersection.
Stern did not respond to several attempts by The State to reach him over multiple days. The State also reached out to Auto Money Title Loans and did not hear back.
City planning officials confirmed to The State that the title loan building will be rebuilt.
Doing so would require separate city approval because of restrictions on where and how large title loan offices can be in Columbia. That case is expected to go to the city’s Planning Commission on April 9, with a vote potentially going to City Council by May.
“Our understanding is that a new title loan will be built, pending approval of a zoning text amendment that would allow it,” a city spokesperson said.
Residents Monday said part of their plan to oppose the gas station includes lobbying city leaders to vote against allowing the new title loan office.
However, the timeline puts the Planning Commission and City Council votes after the deadline to file a court appeal.
The members of the zoning board who voted in favor of the gas station said the corner has needed something new, and that the gas station seemed like an improvement to what currently exists.
“In my opinion, [a] title loan place, it can be perceived as predatory. It’s kind of like, pick your poison. It’s a very valuable corner, but to the applicant’s favor, it’s run down,” said zoning board member Jonathan Vang.
A legal argument: Did the board follow the rules?
One of the key issues residents are raising is whether the Board of Zoning Appeals followed city guidelines about granting special exceptions to existing zoning rules. There are 12 criteria the board needs to consider when deciding whether to grant those exceptions. A project must not impact public safety, the aesthetics of the area or other nearby businesses, for example, and it must comply with existing overlays. Several residents said the gas station doesn’t align with the vision set forth in those existing neighborhood plans.
The board was divided on whether the plans met the right criteria, ultimately giving the OK in a narrow 3-2 vote.
Neighbors said they are exploring fundraising for a legal fight, potentially through a GoFundMe, and contacting attorneys.
Millions of dollars have gone toward making the North Main corridor look and feel more appealing to residents and small businesses. A decade ago leaders began a $50 million effort to beautify the corridor with new sidewalks, asphalt, landscaping and more. A $1.5 million upgrade to Hyatt Park followed. As have a laundry list of new businesses.
The Murphy gas station will still need approval from the city’s Design/Development Review Commission for the design of the project. That hearing is scheduled for March 19.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct a misstated roadway.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Neighbors weigh lawsuit after Columbia board OKs gas station on North Main."
