Fluid situation for Penticton gas stations
Pumps have been switched off permanently at a beleaguered Penticton gas station, while the long-term operation of another local fuel retailer is now the subject of court action.
Calgary-based Parkland Fuel Corp. last month turned off the lights, pulled down signage and erected security fencing around what used to be its Esso station at 1635 Main St. It was operated under contract by a local dealer.
Parkland Fuel Corp. didn’t respond to requests for comment this week. The company announced in late March it’s selling 157 gas stations and convenience stores across Canada. It still has approximately 4,000 retail and fuel locations in Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean.
The station was favoured by members of anti-crime group Clean Streets Penticton, who regularly filled up there to support the business amid a wave of public disorder that followed the opening of the Compass Complex, which features a 75-bed homeless shelter and supportive housing, right across the street in 2019.
The land under the Esso station was valued at $2.9 million as of July 2023 by BC Assessment.
Meanwhile, long-term operation of the Super-Save gas station on Green Mountain Road is in limbo after the landlord tried to evict his tenants earlier this year.
William Vandekerkhove, who operates the station, was granted an injunction Feb. 14 in B.C. Supreme Court to stave off eviction by his landlords, Adam Eneas and Sandi Detjen.
According to the decision, Vandekerkhove,
who’s operated the station on the Penticton Indian Reserve for more than 20 years, received notice Feb. 12 that he had to vacate the premises within six days.
“There is evidence that one of the landlords may have made a social media post stating an intention to take over management of the gas station, even promising better prices,” wrote Justice Neena Sharma in the Feb. 14 decision, which was released this week.
What seems to be at issue is the involvement of the Penticton Indian Band in authorizing the lease of the property, which is on its territory.
Justice Sharma acknowledged that could be a live issue at trial, but ruled in favour of the injunction to mitigate the threat of “irreparable harm” to Vandekerkhove’s business in the meantime.
“Second, and more compelling, is (the property’s) status as a gas station and the future of the gas storage tanks,” added the judge.
“If (the operator) is forced to imminently vacate the property, or if it is pushed out by the landlords, it has no control over the decommissioning of the gas tanks…. I am satisfied that may amount to irreparable harm to (the operator), not to mention the possible irreparable harm to the environment if the landlords choose not to decommission the tanks correctly.”
As of 2022, there are approximately 12,000 gas stations across Canada, down about 40% from the peak in the 1980s, according to the most recent National Retail Petroleum Site Census published by Kalibrate Technologies Ltd.
With files from The Canadian Press