Simi Mulls 1st Gas Station in Over a Decade : Council: Opponents say the proposal, including a mini-mart and carwash, would lead to traffic congestion and crime. Supporters contend that such concerns are unfounded.

Seeking to end a long-running debate, the Simi Valley City Council tonight will hold a public hearing to decide whether to approve the city’s first new gas station in more than a decade.

Three council members have said they support the proposed 24-hour Shell station, market and carwash, which would be built next to a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant on Yosemite Avenue near the Simi Valley Freeway. Two council members have said they oppose the project.

Some residents of the city’s Indian Hills neighborhood have worked to block construction of the gas station, saying that crime and traffic have increased since the McDonald’s opened and that the gas station would make the problems worse.

But a Shell spokesman said residents’ concerns about the station are unfounded.

“Time and time again, we’ve tinkered with the project to try to make it better,” Shell spokesman Larry S. Turner said. “We can’t make everyone happy, but we sure have tried.”

In August, the city’s Planning Commission scuttled Shell’s initial proposal, and the company appealed to the City Council, which deadlocked 2 to 2.

Councilwomen Judy Mikels and Sandi Webb voted in favor of the project, and Mayor Greg Stratton and then-Councilman Michael W. Piper opposed it. Councilman Bill Davis abstained, saying he was concerned about a possible conflict of interest because he owned property nearby.

In November, Shell returned to the commission with revised plans, adding a sound wall and landscaping, and agreeing to help pay for a new traffic signal, but retaining the basic components of the plan: gas pumps, a carwash and market.

After lengthy debate and a public hearing, the commission reversed its position and approved the plan.

Stratton and Councilwoman Barbara Williamson, who was elected to Piper’s seat, appealed the decision, prompting tonight’s hearing.

“I was not in favor of the McDonald’s, so I’m not real excited by anything going in there,” Stratton said. “But if the project as going to go in, my real objective is to get the traffic concerns taken care of.”

Opponents of the project, led by the neighborhood group Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley, said they feared that the gas station would increase traffic and attract large trucks at all hours, causing noise and congestion.

Turner said the station does not plan to carry diesel fuel, so truck traffic should not increase.

Webb said concerns on congestion and safety are unfounded. “It seems to me like they’ve met all of the city’s requirements,” she said. “I think it’s a fine project.”

Davis, who lives in the Indian Hills neighborhood, said he has determined that there is no conflict of interest and plans to vote for the project. Mikels said she also favors the project.

Opponents questioned whether it complies with city codes that require gas stations to be constructed as part of a larger development, such as a shopping center, travel complex or auto-service center.

“We still have a lot of questions,” said Eileen Gordon, founder of Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley. “It’s kind of hard to believe that putting a gas station next to a McDonald’s makes it a larger development.”

The city imposed the “larger development” rule in 1986.

If approved, the Shell station will become Simi Valley’s 30th gas station, and the first in more than 10 years.