This site is not zoned for a Gasoline station. We petition the Town of Castle Rock, Colorado, and all other stakeholders to make sure there is never a variance granted to allow a Gasoline Station at this site. We believe there is no public good that will result from a gas station at this location. We believe mostly public harm will result if this variance is granted.

This proposed site is in a residential neighborhood with narrow streets that cannot handle more traffic. The increased traffic from the proposed gas station appears to contravene town code on when and how zoning amendments or variances are allowed. In addition, there is a residential school bus stop right where the proposed gas station will send cars exiting the proposed site. This appears to be a danger to public safety that cannot be resolved due to the narrow residential streets.

The dangers of increased traffic

The site is next to local businesses that may be negatively impacted by predatory pricing. Furthermore, rather than increasing tax revenue, the Gas Station may just take business from other businesses resulting in no net increase to tax revenues for the Town and other government entities. Data also suggests that as local business are negatively impacted due to a national gas station chain at this site, the overall local economy of Castle Rock may be also negatively impacted. 

A number of studies have shown that local economies are better off with locally owned businesses compared to those which are part of national chain. These studies show that on average 48% of each purchase at a locally-owned business circulates through the local economy compared to less than 14% of purchases from national chain stores. 

How National Gas Station Chains Can Hurt Local Business

If Castle Rock Water is pulling water from the aquifers that flow downhill from the proposed gas station site, it puts the entire town’s water system at risk. There is a new pumping station just west and downhill from his site. While the developer may argue their USTs are state of the art, Johns Hopkins put out research that much of the groundwater contamination from gas stations comes from gasoline spilled before and after filling up cars. This gasoline mixes with rain and other water that flows into drainage areas.

"Soil and groundwater may be imperiled more than previously understood"JHSPH report at the link below.

https://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2014/small-spills-at-gas-stations-could-cause-significant-public-health-risks-over-time.html
 
A new study suggests that drops of fuel spilled at gas stations — which occur frequently with fill-ups — could cumulatively be causing long-term environmental damage to soil and groundwater in residential areas in close proximity to the stations.

The proximity to a residential neighborhood and the positioning above Plum Creek (the actual creek and wetlands area, not the road) make adverse health and environmental impact a certainty with the installation of USTs, their vents, and open spills from gassing up cars and small trucks on that site in our opinion.

A new study finds gasoline stations vent up to 10x more benzene fumes than previously thought.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7059886/ 

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/10/20181006-benzene.html

https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/benzene-health-impacts-monitoring.pdf

https://www.who.int/ipcs/features/benzene.pdf

http://www.inchem.org/documents/iarc/suppl7/benzene.html

https://www.theurbanist.org/2020/05/14/ban-new-gas-stations/

No one has conducted an environmental or health risk assessment for Gasoline Stations at this site. The site is right across the street from the King's Ridge Neighborhood and much closer to these homes than health guidelines for gasoline stations suggest. The numerous other negative effects of Gasoline stations next to residential areas are well documented.

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency echoed concerns about the health risk associated with gas station emissions in their School Siting Guidelines. The USEPA recommended screening school sites for potential health risks when located within 1,000 feet of a gas station.

The last (Zoning) section of this webpage contains a sampling of the public health safety zones for new gas stations adopted by other U.S. jurisdictions. Most call for a greater separation than the 300 feet recommended by the California Air Resources Board. The increasing safety zone distances were prompted by the growing body of research showing that adverse health effects extend further and further from gas stations. In fact, a 2019 study of U.S. gas stations found that benzene emissions from underground gasoline storage tank vents were sufficiently high to constitute a health concern at a distance of up to 518-feet. Also, the researchers noted:

“emissions were 10 times higher than estimates used in setback regulations [like that in the California handbook] used to determine how close schools, playgrounds, and parks can be situated to the facilities [gas stations].” "

https://ceds.org/gasstation/

We can not risk turning Castle Rock into Flint Michigan.

There is no justification to ever grant a zoning variance for a Gasoline station at Plum Creek BLVD and Crystal Valley. Deny all variance requests for the sale of Gasoline at Crystal Valley PKWY and Plum Creek Blvd.