Costco sent out fliers this week inviting community members to attend an open house where it will make its case for a controversial 16-pump gas station at its warehouse store that is yet to open in Wheaton.
The open house is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. Feb. 20 at Newport Mill Middle School, 11311 Newport Mill Road, Kensington.
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According to the fliers, the open house will address questions about Costco's special exception application to place a gas station at Westfield Wheaton, in the parking lot between the mall and the Kensington Heights neighborhood.
The fliers show what Costco says are extreme measures for protecting the community from car fumes and noise, including a large wall and a barrier of trees. (See accompanying PDFs of flier.)
The Stop Costco Gas Coalition, which includes Kensington Heights residents, continues to oppose the gas station plans, citing health and environmental concerns. The coalition has uploaded Costco's special exception filings to its website, along with the group's responses and letters in opposition.
In addition to sending the fliers, Costco emailed its members earlier this week and asked them to support the gas station by sending emails to the Montgomery County Planning Board and staff.
The Planning Board is scheduled to review the special exception application on Feb. 28 and make a recommendation to the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings.
Costco's application is then scheduled to come before a hearing examiner on 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. The hearing examiner will then submit a recommendation to the Board of Appeals for Montgomery County, which will make the final decision.
The store is set to open April 12.
This isn't Costco's first time through the special exception process; its previous application also encountered resistance. When the Montgomery County Council approved a zoning text amendment in 2012 regarding gas stations, Costco was unable to go through with its original plans for constructing a gas station on the proposed site because of its proximity to a neighborhood pool.
Costco responded by submitting a new application that shifted the gas station site east--away from the pool, but closer to the Stephen Knolls School for special needs students.
For more background on the Costco gas station, read the topics page on Wheaton Patch.
I'd give it A plus for colourful, but C- for content. My favourite is the Kensington Heights resident quote they crowbarred into the pamphlet. Utterly anonymous. They couldn't even find someone to put their name to it. Its as if they just made it up.
your gas station away from that area or dump your plans for it. There are lives more precious to consider than your profit margin for a gas station!!!
A mega gas station should not be anybody's neighbor? Do you own a local gas station and fear the price competition?
The traffic at those Costco locations is very heavy. So the addition of the traffic from the trruck-stop like gast station is a major issue. We are talking about the health of kids and families. Comaring existing Costco locations tothe proposed on is to very legitimate. Being negative for negative sake is not helpful.
The equipment is indeed located in park like settings with reasonable tree coverage. I encourage you to visit both locations. You have an interesting handle - presumably it is a Nom de Plume. It would be helpful for the neighborhood dialogue if individuals properly identified themselves when commenting. Are you in Kensington Heights, Wheaton, Kensington, or Bellevue, WA?
Danish researchers, building on earlier field research in the United States and Canada, found evidence of an association between the incidence of cancer and exposure to auto emissions. We can expect similar emissions from the presence of a mega gas station. “Air Pollution From Traffic and Cancer Incidence: a Danish Cohort Study“ was published in Environmental Health a peer-reviewed journal devoted exclusively to the subject of environmental health. You can find the entire paper by Raaschou-Nielsen et al. in Environmental Health 2011, 10:67 or by clicking here: http://www.ehjournal.net/content/10/1/67.
My mistake. I overstated by 100% as per your own comment. Thank you for the correction. Re: Wheaton Patch Wheaton Costco Gas Station Hearing Scheduled for March. Danila Sheveiko 11:43 am on Friday, December 7, 2012 Dear Commentous, I uploaded some images above that should answer most of your questions. At 12,000,000 gallons in projected annual sales, this will be by far the busiest gas station in Mongtomery County. An average station pumps about 1.5 million, so this will be truly a MEGA operation.. Have you seen around here 75 vehicles idling in queue at any other gas station? Ever? So we're talking 75 cars (at peak times) idling in a 6,000 car parking lot. Is that really a reason to deny the station? I read that the County Council has recommended against the station due to insufficient evidence being presented by Costco regarding health hazards. Personally I support this and appreciate the need for caution and safety. That said, I view the local opponents (especially you) as being totally biased against the station, and I question the legitimacy of the arguments presented by both sides. I have observed your arguments jump all over the map in the desperate attempt to block this station. continued