Hi All, 

I've been re-reviewing the city/developer documents -- which can be extremely difficult to find (please email me and I'll send along).

I've also been reviewing dozens of existing studies about the many harmful aspects of 24-hour gas stations within residential communities. Not to mention bloated service centers that require 75 parking spaces for idling and stagnant vehicles. 

Please read and share this data with everyone you know in the community. From an environmental standpoint, it has been proven that gas stations and service centers:

• Drastically increase the occurrence of acute childhood leukemia. Beyond our neighborhood, we have a daycare with hundreds of young children in close proximity to this development.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended screening school sites for potential health risks when located within 1,000 feet of a gas station. This hasn’t happened to date. That is a reason to postpone this vote until more is learned.
• Release benzene and other cancer-causing vapors into the atmosphere from storage tank vents and while gas is being dispensed at the pump.
• Increased risk for residents due to contamination from gas spilled at the pump, which numerous major studies underscore. It’s not just the subsurface pollution – it’s light, sounds, vapors, and everyday spills all of us make at the pump. Read the research below!
• At minimum, this project needs a full environmental assessment before anything moves forward. Not doing so is to lead with ignorance and a complete disregard for our local community. This hasn’t happened to date and is a reason to postpone this vote until more is learned.

Here are the baseline research studies that support those statements:

• Infiltration and evaporation of small hydrocarbon spills at gas stations https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169772214001417

• Assessing the impact of petrol stations on their immediate surroundings https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46109925_Assessing_the_impact_of_petrol_stations_on_their_immediate_surroundings

• Hydrocarbon Release During Fuel Storage/Transfer at Gas Stations: Environmental & Health Effects
  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40572-015-0074-8

• Risk of Cancer as a Result of Community Exposure to Gasoline Vapors https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00039890409605165

• Childhood leukemia and residence next to petrol stations and automotive repair garages
  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19213757/

• Air Quality and Land Use Handbook: A Community Health Perspective https://www.arb.ca.gov/ch/handbook.pdf 
• Vent pipe emissions from storage tanks at gas stations: Implications for setback distances https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718337549
• Exposure to Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether and Benzene in Proximity to Gas Stations https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10473289.2001.10464339 

• Impact of Benzene exposure on gas station employees https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1352231007007583?via%3Dihub

• Impact of Benzene exposure on mechanics https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs004200050281

• The impact of BTEX emissions from gas stations into the atmosphere https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1309104215304384

• Evaluation of environmental levels of aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline service stations
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021967397003907?via%3Dihub

• Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUSTs) and Environmental Injustice https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3980862/ 

• An introduction about Underground Storage Tanks
  https://www.epa.gov/ust/learn-about-underground-storage-tanks-usts

• Hydrocarbon Release During Fuel Storage/Transfer at Gas Stations: Environmental & Health Effects
  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40572-015-0074-8

I'm worried because we still have residents within 1,000 feet of this development who don't think this will impact them. In addition to this data, please take 30 minutes to research the increased crime rates associated with 24-hour convenience stores. 

GET THE WORD OUT. Things are progressing faster than you know and the city isn't on our side right now. Thanks for all you're doing... but we have a lot of work ahead to kill this proposal before it kills our environment, security, property values, and overall quality of life.

We need a massive in-person presence at the June 14 meeting. They will read a few things, including this petition and your letters, but showing up in person is paramount to success. 

I need your help and ongoing support and advocacy. Please take time to research these issues and communicate with city officials. If you have other research to share, send to my email at jaystank33@gmail.com.

Decisions are made before these public hearings. They need to know now (and often) that we're serious. Let's make that happen. 

Jay Stank