Politics & Government

Wheaton Costco Gas Station Hearing Scheduled for March

The Stop Costco Gas Coalition is concerned that the special exception hearing will be too soon for the group to present a strong response to Costco's application.

Opponents of the proposed Costco gas station at Westfield Wheaton have written two letters to the Board of Appeals for Montgomery County, requesting a delay of the hearing for Costco's new special exception application.

The Board of Appeals has issued a notice that the hearing is scheduled for March 11, 15, 18, and 22 at 9:30 a.m. in the Stella B. Werner Council Office Building, Second Floor Davidson Memorial Hearing Room, at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. (See PDF attached to this article.)

The Stop Costco Gas Coalition is worried that there will not be enough time to review Costco's special exception materials and express concerns to the Planning Department (which will review the special exception and give a report to the Board of Appeals) by a deadline of Jan. 15, 2013.

Find out what's happening in Wheatonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The coalition is requesting that the hearing not be scheduled earlier than June 2013.

The Montgomery County Council approved a zoning text amendment this summer that prevented Costco from constructing a gas station in the original proposed location because of its proximity to a neighborhood pool. But Costco has submitted a new application that shifts the gas station east.

Find out what's happening in Wheatonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The new proposed location would still border the Kensington Heights neighborhood and would be closer to the Stephen Knolls School for special needs students.

For background on the Costco gas station issue and Zoning Text Amendment 12-07, see Wheaton Patch's topic page.

The hearing notice and the two letters by the Stop Costco Gas Coalition have been attached to this article as PDFs.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here