RANCHO PALOS VERDES : Council Urges Unocal to Keep Gas Station
Worried by the closure of three of Unocal Corp.’s five Rancho Palos Verdes gasoline stations within the past year, the City Council is urging the company to continue to operate its station at Hawthorne Boulevard and Palos Verdes Drive West.
The council voted unanimously to send a letter to Roger Beach, Unocal’s chief executive officer, expressing concern that another closure would inconvenience residents and visitors. The city also would lose about $15,000 a year in sales tax, according to a report by City Manager Paul D. Bussey.
Thrifty Oil Co. owns the land on which the station operates, and Unocal’s lease expires at the end of this month.
Bob Mattes, a Unocal area manager, told the City Council on Tuesday that the station is close to signing a new lease with Thrifty.
“It has been our desire not to leave this corner,” Mattes said.
The station operator, Nasser Novinshoar, told city officials he hopes to stay at the eight-pump station. He said that hundreds of customers have offered to sign a petition opposing the station’s closure.
“I like to do business rather than a legal battle,” Novinshoar said as he stood outside the station greeting customers one recent afternoon.
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