In early February, it was announced that Main Street Grill would be demolished to make way for a third gas station in Crestline.
Building a gas station here would not only be a detriment to the neighborhood and Crestline people, but also to the city itself, other businesses, and surrounding areas.
First, a gas station in this location would not be ideal to the residents living close by. Gas stations bring high traffic (lights and noise,) smells, and pollutants (air and ground.) As someone who hopes to build a family across the street from this location, I do not feel comfortable having a gas station so close by. (Not to mention, one of the "pluses" of moving to our new home was having a restaurant right outside.) Over time, gas station underground tanks begin to leak, and I don't want to poison my family. Second, residents on this side of town wouldn't have the incentive to go into downtown for gas, ultimately hurting other businesses there. (Personally, I work in the opposite direction of downtown and my parents live around the corner, so- besides refilling my car- I don't have a weekly obligation to go into downtown, as horrible as it sounds.) Third, the newly built Dollar General Market would lose some of its business. As we've seen from Walmart and other major stores, why go two places if you can go to one? Fourth, and tying in to the first, gas stations bring down market value. Like the others living around me, my house will decrease in value when I decide to sell. Fifth, the Main Street Grill building has harbored many local businesses, and it would be a shame to see it go and a large-scale company take its place. Sixth, traffic would pose a threat at an already tight intersection. Finally, if it were to close its doors, another business going in afterwards, besides another gas station, would be slim-to-none since cleaning up and demolishing a gas station is very tedious and financially exhausting.
To sum this up, I'm asking the Village of Crestline, my beloved hometown, to not allow doing away with another good, local business possibility for one that is not welcome in this location. I think Elizabeth Dillon from Porch Press summed it up well when she said, “Not only does the construction of a gas station create negative health impacts to a neighborhood, it also effectively prevents the development of a project on that site which may have had a positive impact on the neighborhood. The gas station will likely stay there for at least fifty years and will be a reminder of the missed opportunity for a development that could promote a community’s vision for the future.”
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“While convenience stores, gas stations and vehicle repair facilities provide many benefits, they can have a severe quality of life impact when allowed too close to homes and other inappropriate locations. In fact, new stores and stations can even harm existing establishments, particularly when predatory pricing is employed to eliminate competition.” Community & Environmental Defense Services
“A number of compounds injurious to human health are released from gas stations during vehicle fueling and from underground storage tank vents. These compounds include: benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene (BTEX). Measures to reliably resolve these adverse health effects are not employed at new gas stations. Benzene is the gasoline constituent most harmful to human health. Adverse health effects of benzene include nausea, cancer, anemia, increased susceptibility to infections, and low birth weight. According to the World Health Organization Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality there is no safe level for benzene. The following research documents the extent of benzene releases from gas stations as well as adverse health effects: A 1993 study published by the Canadian petroleum industry found average benzene concentrations of 146 and 461 parts per billion (ppb) at the gas station property boundary in summer and winter, respectively. A 2001 study noted median ambient benzene levels of 1.9 ppb in houses up to 328 feet from a service station. A 2003-2004 study conducted in France documented a significant relationship between childhood leukemia and living near a gas station. A 2010 study conducted in Spain documented elevated air pollution within 100 meters (328 feet) of a gas station. In 2012, Brazilian researchers found that air quality was significantly degraded up to 150 meters (492 feet) from gas stations.” Community & Environmental Defense Services
“During the five-year period of 2004-2008, NFPA [National Fire Protection Association] estimates that U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 5,020 [fires] in service or gas station properties per year. These fires caused an annual average of two civilian deaths, 48 civilian fire injuries, and $20 million in direct property damage.” US Department of Housing & Urban Development
“Spillage at the pump is a more likely source of fuel release into nearby waterways. In fact, Johns Hopkins University researchers found that an average of 40 gallons of gasoline is spilled at a typical gas station per year at the pumps. The JHU researchers also found that a significant portion of the spilled gasoline can migrate through the concrete pads at many fueling stations.” Community & Environmental Defense Services
“It takes about 3,000 to 6,000 people living or working within the market area to support a single gas station.” Community & Environmental Defense Services
“...former gas stations are not as easy to sell as many other vacant commercial properties, since in the U.S. a gas station is presumed to be what is called a brownfield. That is a property where there is real or presumed pollution. It is just assumed that at some point the underground gas tanks have leaked or will soon do so, contaminating the soil and groundwater. So that means that under U.S. law, the underground gas tanks must be removed, and soil around and under them also must be removed and replaced. This is the legal responsibility of the owners of the gas station, so in practice this work has to be completed before the station can be sold.” Useful Community Development
“In December 2010, Spanish researchers at the University of Murcia released a study on the effects of air contamination from gas stations. This study found increased levels of airborne chemicals within 150 feet of gas stations due to the evaporation of gasoline during the filling process. The greater the number of pumps at the gas station, the larger the area of contamination was found to be, extending up to 300 feet from the station. Perhaps the most harmful of these chemicals is Benzene. Benzene is a known carcinogen that has been shown to affect the central nervous system, respiratory tract, and the immune system. After prolonged exposure, it has also been shown to cause brain damage, anemia, and leukemia. Toluene is another chemical that is found in gasoline vapors; and it is associated with cardiac arrhythmias, liver and kidney failure, and developmental problems in fetuses.” The Porch Press
“To provide high visibility to passing motorists and fend off would-be armed robbers, gas stations are very well lit. This can cause light pollution to the surrounding area and can be a particular nuisance if the station continues to operate late into the night or 24 hours a day, as many stations choose to do.” The Porch Press
“Gas stations have large and numerous curb cuts to allow for the easy flow of traffic, but these curb cuts interrupt the sidewalk and create an unpleasant and unsafe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists. This kind of environment discourages walking. [Bicycle Universe] states that walking is 36 times more dangerous than driving in the United States due to the lack of safe places to walk.” The Porch Press
“LUST, or leaking underground storage tanks, is an undesirable consequence of having a gas station next door or even down the street, as gasoline or diesel fuel that leaks from these tanks can move great distances below ground and can reside there for decades, also having an impact on those adjacent properties.” The Porch Press
“When thousands of gallons of gasoline enter the soil, chemicals travel to groundwater, which the EPA says is the source of drinking water for nearly half the U.S. If buying a home, consider its potential loss in value if a nearby underground storage tank were to leak. Gasoline additives such as methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), which has been outlawed in some states, make the water undrinkable—and that is only one of 150 chemicals in gasoline. Repeated high exposure to gasoline, whether in liquid or vapor form, can cause lung, brain and kidney damage, according to the NIH’s National Library of Medicine.” Scientific American
