SIMI VALLEY : Planners Cast Votes Against Gas Station

The Simi Valley Planning Commission voted 3 to 2 late Wednesday to reject plans for a service station and carwash after residents of a nearby hillside neighborhood expressed strong concerns about potential traffic, crime and noise problems.

At issue was Shell Oil Co.’s plan to build gas pumps, a small market and an automated carwash at the northwest corner of the Simi Valley Freeway and Yosemite Avenue.

Members of Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley, based in the hillside neighborhood nearby, objected to the gas station proposal. Previously, the homeowner group had unsuccessfully opposed plans for a McDonald’s restaurant adjacent to the gas station site.

“We contend that this project is not compatible with our neighborhood,” Lesley Barncard, co-president of the citizens group, told the commission.

About 60 people attended the hearing, most of them opposed to the Shell project. Several speakers objected to a 25-foot-tall freeway advertising sign planned by the restaurant and the gas station.

Dug Smith, Shell Oil’s real estate representative, told the commission that his company designs its stations to discourage loitering and crime. He also said the company needs the support of nearby residents.

“We can’t do business from the freeway alone,” he said. “We need the neighborhood.”

The city planning staff had urged approval of the Shell project, saying it complied with local development rules and would not create excessive traffic or noise problems.

But commissioners Sherida Simmons, William Souder and Ronald Lenfield voted down the project, saying that the staff’s environmental impact review was inadequate and that the station was not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Commissioners Barbara Williamson and Dave McCormick favored the project.

Shell officials on Thursday had not yet determined whether to revise the gas station proposal or appeal the commission’s decision to the City Council.