Hopefully, the council will see that the rights of the local community come before the rights of an out-of-state, multi-million-dollar business.

What is perplexing to me is that anyone, be it Costco or a County Council member would oppose this ZTA on the basis that there isn't enough scientific evidence supporting the community's concerns. Even if that were true, which I dispute, I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to the health and well-being of myself and my neighbors, especially children and the elderly. Besides, don't we already endure enough Code Red and Code Orange air quality days during the summer in MoCo. Mega gas stations in densely populated areas of the county, adjacent to schools, recreational facilities, and the like will only exacerbate the problem.

Mega gas stations have only been around for 15 years or so, but are a growing trend. Costco's success in the discount gasoline market is now emulated by other major retailers, like Wal-Mart, BJ's, Sam's Club, Safeway and others. For once, the government has a chance to be proactive in solving a problem - mega gas stations have a place, but in industrial parks and next to highway interchanges, not next to outdoor swimming pool, single-family residences, and a school for children with special needs. In this, ZTA 12-07 affects everyone in Montgomery County - with enough lawyers and experts, a major retail corporation can always prevail over a few neighbors when the County government stays neutral at best, so the next mega gas station could be coming to a neighborhood near you!

I agree that Wheaton Plaza is not the right place for a mega gas station, but I'm torn over whether this should be decided by the admininstrative body through the special exemption process, or by the legislative body through this ZTA. My experience with Costco gas is two-fold. The station at Beltsville is a disaster--long lines, with stupid drivers waiting 20-25 minutes to save a couple cents per gallon versus the nearby stations. But, the station a little further around the beltway at Woodmore Towne Centre has only 2-4 cars waiting per line. If the Wheaton Costco gas station were going to be like the Woodmore station, I would have far fewer concerns.

I think no one can credibly argue that a brand new gas station, built to current code, would be a danger by itself. I'd rather be within 50 feet of a new Costco station than within 1,000 feet of any of the Freestate, Econoway, G.A.S, etc. that are in the surrounding area. The biggest problem would be idling cars.

I do not know how much pollution the gas station may contribute but I am pretty sure that the person who prepared the report citing "errors" in the independent COSTCO report is a member of the local community and I am not sure his report is not biased.
I use the Beltsville station and have never had to wait more than 10 minutes even with the longest of lines and I look forward to having cheap gas in Wheaton.

My family and I are disappointed that we can't make it to the meeting tonight due to some health issues in the house but will be watching on TV.
For the sake of the children and elderly members of our household, I hope and pray that the Council will pass this common sense law. Why should we risk our communities and lifestyle for an unneeded gas station to serve this immediate area? (The needs analysis from Costco had a pretty dubious methodology as I work with this kind of data interpretation daily.) Everybody wants to save money in this economy but at what cost to our neighborhoods and who really benefits from its placement next to schools, swimming pools and dense residential areas? Do the profits go to our neighbors or school children?

At last nights hearing, the biggest complaint I heard from folks who want the gas station at a Wheaton CostCo was how much cheaper it was to purchase their gasoline at CostCo in Beltsville; so I took the time to do a little math to figure out if this was true. Based upon all the data I collected, the cost of going to CostCo in Beltsville is higher than purchasing it in Wheaton:

Cost of Gasoline at local Wheaton station: $3.35/$40.20 to fill a 12 gallon tank,
Cost of Gasoline at Beltsville CostCo: $3.25./$39.00 to fill a 12 gallon tank,
Cost Savings of $1.20 to purchase a tank of Gasoline at CostCo.

Is there really a savings?

Current Average MPG of American Automobiles is @ 18 MPG (per http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=384)

The distance for a round trip from Wheaton to Beltsville is 20 miles. This equates to a cash outlay of $3.61 at the Beltsville CostCo prices to pay for the round trip from Wheaton to Beltsville and back again.

Subtracting the cost savings of the purchase of CostCo's lower grade gasoline ($1.20) from the cost of taking the trip ($3.61) equates to a "loss" of $2.40. Not to mention the time it takes to travel there and back (whatever your time is worth), idling in line, and the burning of fuel while waiting in line. (if a 15 minute wait consumes 1/5 of a gallon of gas while idling, then the cost for that is .65).

Overall loss: $3.05

To those who want an attendant: Go to Beltsville. You want an additional service, pay for it.

For anyone who's interested, here's the story I wrote about last night's public hearing: http://wheaton-md.patch.com/articles/costco-gas-station-dominates-zta-12-07-testimony