Disputed gas station clears hurdle
Costco site not an environmental risk, study says; critics disagree
A plan to open a Costco gas station in Novato would pose no major environmental risks, according to a report by the city.
Costco is proposing to build the site in the parking lot in front of its store in the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center in Novato. The site would accommodate up to 28 vehicles at a time, one on each side of 14 pumps.
A state-mandated environmental review of the project conducted by the city along with the Sacramento-based Rincon Consultants Inc. firm found the project would have no significant impacts on the environment.
The public will be able to weigh in on the environmental report until 5 p.m. Feb. 19. Comments can be submitted by email to city planner Brett Walker at bwalker@novato. org or mailed to the Novato Community Development Department,
Attn: Brett Walker, 922 Machin Ave., Novato, CA 94945.
The gas station would take up about an acre of the parking lot, displacing 119 parking spots. In addition, Costco proposes to make several changes to Rowland Boulevard on the east side of the shopping center to address traffic flow and pedestrian safety. These changes include a 10-foot-wide bike and pedestrian path, four new crosswalks, street restriping and a streetlight timing reconfiguration.
“Assuming no new issues have been raised and that the analysis was thorough, we would move the project forward to the Planning Commission,” Novato Community Development Director Vicki Parker said. “We don’t have a date set for that yet since the comment period is not complete, but we can assume it would go forward to the Planning Commission in March.
The project must also be heard by the City Council.”
If the city approves the project, construction could begin in June and be completed by September.
Local environmental organizations are opposing the project because of climate change concerns and its proximity to wetland habitats, including the Beverly Ereth Ecological Preserve to the south.
Susan Stompe of the Marin Conservation League
said adding a new gas station would go against Novato’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its recently passed climate emergency declaration.
“One week they claim an emergency climate action and a couple of weeks later they would approve a 28-pump gas station? Give me a break,” Stompe said. “It’s just not consistent. It defies logic.”
While the environmental review does address potential impacts to nesting birds caused by tree removal and construction noise, Stompe said it hardly acknowledges noise
and air quality impacts on the Ereth preserve.
If construction does occur during the nesting season, a biologist would survey the area for actively used nests, according to the environmental review. The company intends to plant 37 trees near the gas station to replace most of the 41 trees that would be removed during construction, according to the report.
Environmental groups have also raised concerns about the three 40,000-gallon underground gasoline tanks proposed at the site given its proximity to the
bay and the ecological preserve. Marin Audubon Society president Barbara Salzman said she plans to review the city’s environmental report, but expressed concern about the potential for tank leakage to contaminate groundwater.
“That whole site used to be part of the bay,” Salzman said.
The underground tanks would be secured using tiedowns connected to concrete, backfilled with gravel and capped with 8-inchthick reinforced concrete slabs, according to the environmental report. The tanks would also include leak-detection equipment and cutoff valves to immediately stop the flow of fuel if the tank is knocked off its anchoring or if a hose is pulled.
Costco declined to comment.
In addition to the Novato plan, Costco has also proposed a store and gas station at the Northgate mall in San Rafael. In 2019, the San Rafael Planning Commission unanimously opposed a gas station there.
More information about Costco’s gas station proposal in Novato can be found at bit.ly/2MkavQr.