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Opinion: Does Kings Beach need yet another gas station?

Megan and Jack Chillemi
Special the Sun

There are good community projects, and there are bad projects — and then there are colossally bad projects.

On Feb. 26, Placer County’s Planning Commission will consider a three-year extension on a Conditional Use Permit for the construction of the North Shore Gas Station.

According to the concept originally approved in 2009, the proposed log house-style would house the gas station office and a mini-mart. Log house-style might look good for somebody’s cabin, but maybe not so much for a gas station.



It’s planned for the empty lot between the county’s new parking lot and the car wash on the east side of town.

“Why is another (gas station) needed, when all efforts are to get folks out of their cars and make Kings Beach a walkable and bikeable town?”

Now, another gas station might have made sense when Kings Beach had a four-lane freeway running through it. There are eight gas stations in a 15- to 30-mile radius of this proposed location (Incline Village, Kings Beach, Tahoe City, and Truckee).



Why is another one needed, when all efforts are to get folks out of their cars and make Kings Beach a walkable and bikeable town?

Why would you want to dillute the environmental gains made by the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project?

Why sink gasoline tanks in an area known for high water tables and underground springs? Why build another gas station after Placer County has spent tens of thousands of dollars in remediation to remove old underground tanks from defunct gas stations in Kings Beach?

Why build another mini mart, which would be a part of the North Shore Station, that dilutes existing businesses, among them the 7-Eleven, La Mexicana and the new and wildly popular Tahoe Central Market in the middle of town?

Why locate a business known to be one of the most polluting to air and water quality? Why, why, why?

A lot of locals go to Reno to fill up the gas tank to avoid paying the higher costs demanded by stations at the lake. You gotta shake your head. It just doesn’t make any sense.

You only need to drive by the site of the gas station at the west end gateway in of Incline Village to see more.

This site has been vacant for decades … it appears that buyers don’t want to take on the huge costs of remediation. So, fast forward another 10 years — is this possibility what the community in Kings Beach wants?

What are your thoughts? Please pick up a pen or your laptop or cellphone and write or telephone Mr. Allen Breuch in the Placer County’s Planning Department, or the Planning Commission.

Megan and Jack Chillemi are Kings Beach residents.


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