CHESTERFIELD — Chesterfield must pay a developer of a proposed convenience store-car wash project $2 million after losing a years-long squabble over left turns, a Ƶ County Circuit Court jury has decided.
The jury verdict, announced Friday, followed a court fight that dragged on for more than six years, spurred by a dispute over traffic restrictions imposed by the city at the site, near the intersection of Chesterfield Airport Road and Olive Street Road.
Brad Goss, an attorney for Energy Marketing 709 LLC, said the ruling means that his client can go ahead with longstanding plans for an expanded gas station-convenience store, car wash and retail building at the 5.2-acre site.
City officials did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.
The triangular site, commonly known as the Wedge property, now houses a smaller gas station and convenience store.
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The lawsuit, filed in 2017, stemmed from the City Council’s insistence on barring left turns out of the development to Chesterfield Airport Road at its easternmost access point.
The council added that restriction when it approved rezoning plans in 2014. City officials said they did so for public safety reasons.
The developer argued that the city couldn’t impose such a requirement because Ƶ County, not the city, has control over turns on Chesterfield Airport Road because it is a county arterial route.
Circuit Judge Kristine Allen Kerr, in a 2019 ruling, sided with the developer on that issue, and the case continued over damages and other issues.
County officials agreed that the ban on left turns wasn’t needed, court records indicated. The developer also said two traffic consultants it hired at the city’s request had the same view.
According to court records, the jury’s $2 million damage judgment related to the plaintiff’s contention that delays in the project had amounted to an unconstitutional “taking” of property. Goss said the judge will determine how much in attorney’s fees will be awarded.
The plaintiff contended in court filings that it lost more than $700,000 in revenue due to the delays. The lawsuit initially sought $6 million in damages. Goss said the judge had previously limited damages to those incurred since her 2019 ruling.