INDIANAPOLIS — Developers have filed applications for 21 new gas stations around Indianapolis in the weeks before city officials approved a zoning change that further limits where they can be built.

Last month, the Indianapolis City-County Council voted unanimously to place a moratorium on gas stations/convenience stores in areas zoned for small businesses, such as clothing and beauty shops and office service, after a task force determined that the city’s 40-year-old zoning code determined that such areas weren’t appropriate for modern convenience stores.

They now must be built in areas with heavier industry because of their traffic, noise and around-the clock lighting. By getting the applications in under the wire, the new retailer plans will be reviewed under the old, less restrictive, zoning rules. If the pending construction applications are approved, they would push the number of gas stations in the light-retail zones from about 80 to more than 100. However, residents are already fighting plans for some of the new stations, according to The Indianapolis Star reported.

Scott Imus, executive director of the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said the zoning change was unfair. “Let’s let the marketplace decide where the stores should go,” Imus told news outlets. “For a lot of people convenience stores are where they go to get grocery staples like milk. These owners are entrepreneurs. If someone wants to invest money they should not be deterred.”

Learn more about what NACS is doing to help retailers address community concerns on zoning issues,here.