Seattle Press on Line - Citizens Want to Block Discount Gas Station

Citizens Want to Block Discount Gas Station

By Tom Herriman

Andrea Faste gathers signatures on petitions opposing the gas station.

Jun 13, 2001 -- Motorists heading into the Safeway parking lot slowed and gawked at the small crowd on the corner of NW 83rd Street and Mary Avenue NW on the evening of Tuesday, May 29. Was it an accident? A small riot? According to Kyle Kovalik, who lives across the street, it was about an accident waiting to happen.

Safeway wants to build an eight-pump discount gas station on this corner of their parking lot. But neighborhood residents and the Crown Hill Community Council think gas-station traffic will result in a lot more accidents in the area, and increase traffic through their residential neighborhood.

They point out that 15th Avenue NW and NW 85th Street is already one of the most dangerous intersections in the state, according to insurance statistics. Having seen long lines at Costco discount gas stations, they wonder if Safeway will transform their quiet, bungalowed streets into a nightmare, with exhaust fumes from waiting lines of cars, added noise, and glare from commercial lighting.

The community council invited DCLU planner David Van Skike to meet with them on the site to explain DCLU's process for evaluating Safeway's permit application. Kovalik told Van Skike that he and his neighbors were concerned because Safeway provided very little information about how the gas station would actually operate.

"I've had a similar take, that some of these questions were not fully answered," Van Skike said, "but is there enough known about the project for us to begin review?" Van Skike said DCLU would start analyzing Safeway's plans and asking questions after the public comment period ends (on June 13). He explained, "I have a list of corrections I want to ask [Safeway] for, but there's no set law that says a new development can't cause significant impacts."

DCLU planner David Van Skike explains the permitting process.

Van Skike told the neighbors, "If you still have concerns after DCLU makes its decision, you have the right to appeal. I fully expect one side or the other to appeal the decision." He added, "If it's a good decision, you'll probably both appeal."

Cherie Myers, Safeway's director of Publicity and Government Affairs, said the station is scheduled to open August 3. However, Van Skike said DCLU may not be done with its analysis until September, and an appeal could take several weeks.

Myers wouldn't say how many cars are expected each day at the station, but a study conducted for Safeway by Heffron Transportation and submitted to DCLU showed that 88 cars an hour could be buying gas at the station during peak periods.

Myers said cars would enter and leave the station using driveways both on 15th Avenue and NW 83rd Street, confirming neighborhood fears that there could be a substantial increase in the number of cars using adjacent residential streets. But Van Skike told the street-corner meeting, "The transitory access question is something we need to look at further. It's a legal matter. Because of the zoning, they would not be able to use the 83rd Street driveway as an entrance or an exit for the gas station."

After the meeting, Van Skike told The Seattle Press, "This is democracy in action. Neighborhoods aren't equal partners when it comes to development--they don't have the lawyers and designers and architects. We like this kind of input from people familiar with the history of the site and the neighborhood."

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