New Requirements for Locating Large Gas Stations

Yesterday we unanimously approved an amended zoning text amendment that impacts the location of new large gas stations in the County. ZTA 12-07, as amended, will require large gas stations to be located at least 300 feet from schools, parks, playgrounds, day care centers and other outdoor facilities.

The original ZTA would have added standards for County Board of Appeals approval of a new gas station designed to disperse more than 3.6 million gallons of fuel per year by requiring those stations to be located at least 1,000 feet from any public or private school or any park, playground or hospital or other public use. It also would have established that distance as related to any property used for cultural, entertainment or recreational use. A gas station designed to dispense less than 3.6 million gallons a year will not have a minimum distance requirement from other land uses.

The ZTA will impact all future large filling stations that seek to locate in the County. Right now there is one application in for such a station—a gas station that Costco sought to locate near its future new store in Wheaton. The amended ZTA approved today means that Costco cannot build its station as currently configured. However, it does not necessarily prohibit a station on a relocated portion of the property or a smaller station.

Before casting my vote in favor of this new proposal, I reviewed a large amount of scientific evidence, examined practices in other counties and guidance from the EPA, listened to hours of testimony, and read correspondence from hundreds of interested citizens.

I ultimately came to the conclusion that this new proposal sets reasonable limits on the placement of large gas stations and will serve to protect public health. At the same time, this revised amendment also alleviates my concerns that the original proposal was overly broad and not supported by the scientific evidence.