O'Reilly Automotive looking to break ground on store in Cheney

Cheney may soon have another auto parts store.

National auto parts retailer O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. has filed an application with the city to construct a new 7,000-square-foot O’Reilly Auto Parts store on one acre of property located at 2210 First St., just south of Del’s Farm Supply store. If the application is approved, construction could begin in May 2015, with a completion date of August 2015.

According to information from the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) checklist, the new store would employ 14 full- and part-time workers, generating 186 vehicular trips per day, approximately 17 in the afternoon peak hours. Most of those trips would be local, and with a 30-40 percent “pass through rate” relieve some traffic on First Street/State Route 904 during peak hours.

The land is zoned C-2 for general commercial. Most of the property is currently covered with poor condition grass, which would be replaced with new grass and shrubs. Three evergreens recently planted in the center of the site would be removed.

About 58 percent of the site would be impervious surface, with stormwater runoff discharged into a retention pond that then releases the stormwater into an existing low portion of the site so as to mimic normal stormwater conditions.

“They are actually going to be putting in a drainage swale on site, which will be a huge improvement from the current situation,” senior planner Brett Lucas said in an email.

The highest point of the metal building will be 19 feet, with the city having no aesthetic requirements. The checklist also states there would be a minimal increase in police and fire protection services, and lighting would be constructed so as to be focused towards the ground and not create hazardous conditions for motorists, pedestrians and nearby residents.

The city’s report states the proposal has been found to have no “probable significant adverse impact on the environment” and does not require an environmental impact statement. Some proposed mitigation measures have been suggested, mainly for lighting and dust and soil conditions arising from construction.

Comments regarding the application must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13. Comments should be directed to Lucas at the Community Development Department, 112 Anderson Road, Cheney WA 99004 or via email at [email protected].

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].