Plans for a proposed Costco mega gas station in Novato, California, have sparked a massive fight from the town’s residents and environmental groups. The opposition claims the gas station goes against the city’s recently adopted Climate Action Plan.
The city of Novato, north of San Francisco, approved Costco’s development of a one-acre site next to its existing store in the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center. The plan includes 14 fuel dispensers and 28 fueling positions.
However, in 2022, Novato implemented a ban on new gas stations and declared a climate emergency in 2020. According to the city, both issues are irrelevant because the project team submitted it for review before the ban.
The project will involve building a 10,000-square-foot canopy over the fuel dispensers. It will also include three 40,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tanks (UST), one 1,500-gallon additive UST, a controller enclosure, a vapor processor unit, and associated site improvements.
Novato’s climate emergency and the adopted Climate Action Plan aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. According to the city’s own study, transportation accounts for roughly 64% of local emissions.
The new Costco gas station, opponents believe, will not only increase emissions but also worsen traffic congestion. Concerns also include local air quality and the long-term risk of fuel leaks. They also cite the planned gas station’s proximity to protected wetlands and a pediatric clinic.
Why are residents so upset about ‘the biggest commercial project in Novato since 1992’
In an opinion piece published by the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this month, a resident explained that a lawsuit had previously blocked Costco from building a gas station in the Bay Area. In that case, the judge ruled that there was “substantial evidence … that there may be a significant environmental impact.”
“The city estimates that 6,840 vehicles will visit the gas station between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day,” the resident wrote. “At peak hours, there might be hundreds of idling vehicles, with contingencies for vehicle queues spreading onto nearby streets. If all of that sounds inconvenient, the actual harms from the project could be drastic.
“Although the city insists that environmental and public health injuries would be ‘less than significant,’ credible peer-reviewed studies show even modestly sized gas stations contribute to elevated cancer risks, asthma, child health impacts, vapor leaks, groundwater contamination, and high benzene emissions. That’s why many jurisdictions — including Novato — have outlawed new gas stations of any size.”
