Preble: Is Flying J coming back?

That's a question I get often. Everyone asks it. Even people who live far away. Flying J and all truck stops have built on all the easy spots. Spots where a truck stop is not unwelcome, industrial areas and so forth. Now the only spots left are in contested areas such as Preble and Salina. Both places turned Flying J away but Flying J would come back if the opportunity presented itself. The Preble site, owned by Nice N Easy is still vacant. The site across the road, owned by Peter Knapp, is bigger, zoned commercial and will be available someday. During one of the early meetings with Flying J their representative said that they get 85 or 95% of their business from the side of the interstate they are on. The Preble site is on the south bound lane. The closest south bound truck stop is north of Syracuse. That makes for a long stretch on 81 with no truck stop. If the climate were to change in Preble they would come back in an instant. That is why the provision was added to the Aquifer Protection District that was submitted to the Water Committee last year. It said:

178-45. Restrictions and requirements.

A. Prohibitive uses and activities.

(7) Gas stations, Truck Stops, solid waste disposal facilities and junkyards are prohibited in Areas I and II.

As you can see, truck stops are prohibited. Shortly, the town board will get the final suggested APD from the water committee.

If the town board takes the Truck Stop prohibition out of the APD then we will know that the town board wants to have Flying J come back. If it is left in the APD then you can rest easy that Flying J nor any other truck stop will ever come to Preble.

We'll have to wait and see what the town board does before we will know for sure. Hopefully, the new town board will leave the prohibition in the APD and we can all put these last few years behind us and start the healing process in Preble. I certainly hope so, but only time and the town board will tell.

View the Aquifer Protection District for the Town of Preble New York that was submitted last year.