The Memphis City Council rejected a proposed gas station development in Binghampton on Tuesday afternoon, drawing applause from leaders, business owners and residents of the community.

The elaborately designed convenience store with gas pumps and retail bays was destined for 2977 Broad Ave. at Tillman Street and Sam Cooper Boulevard.

Neighborhood leaders oppose proposed gas station in Binghampton

The council rejected the plan by an 8-5 vote.

Councilman Worth Morgan, who represents the district, was among those who voted against the gas station. He reminded other council members of the accomplishments made by Citizens to Preserve Overton Park when they stopped Sam Cooper Boulevard from being built through the park during the 1970s.

“But what you don’t hear on the backside of that is what happened to (the) Binghampton neighborhood,” he said. “(Sam Cooper Boulevard) is a scar down the middle of the neighborhood that has left a long and lasting impression.” Morgan added the council needs to be aware of the decisions that affect the neighborhood. “Are we trying to heal that wound or keep it open? And gas station infrastructure keeps it open.”

The proposal for the development was delayed five times since August and then voted down during a tie vote Nov. 16.

Then, at a Dec. 7 meeting, the council set it for a revote at its Jan. 4 meeting.

But that item got delayed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases potentially keeping speakers from attending. Two speakers appeared that day but were told to come back. 

About Town: Fight continues against proposed gas station in Binghampton

During Tuesday’s meeting, nine people spoke against the gas station and three people, including the gas station’s representative John Behnke, voiced their support.

Behnke gave himself minimal time to speak, noting “the passion of the opposition is noted and appreciated,” and yielded much of the remainder of the time to Julian Bolton, an attorney and former Shelby County commissioner.

“Give your neighborhood a chance,” Bolton said. “Don’t turn down a $2.5 million project which will, in fact, enhance your neighborhood with five venues, not just a service station, and discourage other developers from bringing their projects to your neighborhood.”

People from the neighborhood felt the lot, across the street from Collage Dance Collective and Gateway Center, would be more suitable for a community-centered development such as housing, retail or grocery store. 

Memphis has many more gas stations per capita than cities like Nashville, said Paul Klein, a Cordova resident whose mother-in-law lives in Binghampton. 

“No doubt, that led to your decision to create a citywide moratorium on new gas stations last year,” Klein said. “Still, developers are trying to get this body to grant exceptions. This important moratorium should be considered as a timeout in order to allow our community leaders time to research and find alternative solutions for Memphis’ low-income food desert problems.”

Other speakers noted that the gas station would have also caused increased traffic, which would be dangerous to the high number of pedestrians and cyclists in that intersection. 

The gas station would also cause a hindrance to environmental remediation efforts in the neighborhood, such as in 2003, when gasoline tanks were removed from the same lot where a former gas station once resided. 

Megan Lomo lives across the street from the lot with her husband and two kids and is expecting another baby. She said the gas station seemed like a “quick fix” to the area but would have done more damage in the long run. 

“We want our neighborhood to thrive,” Lomo said. “I want my kids to have an area like my brothers and sisters have that’s hope-filled and has expectations for greatness. Not feeling like we’re walked on and stepped over.”