After a procession of neighbors stood up to oppose it, the county approved a major remodel of the Point Reyes gas station last week that includes a full-scale convenience store and five apartments, including one affordably priced unit.

Neighbors vowed to appeal the project, arguing that it would compound traffic problems at an unsafe intersection, strip character-defining features from the building, pose potential environmental hazards and deprive local businesses of income.

“I felt that no one from the county in that hearing room gets our village or sees the need to preserve anything,” Point Reyes Station resident Pamela Bridges told the Light. “But this is far from over.”

Ms. Bridges chairs the site review committee of the Point Reyes Station Village Association, which has until Feb. 15 to file an appeal to the Marin County Planning Commission. The association is planning a GoFundMe campaign to cover the costs.

Nearly 40 members and supporters of the association showed up for last Thursday’s zoning hearing to speak out against the plan.

“Do we need a mini-mart franchise in Point Reyes?” asked Barbara Eastman, who has lived in town for 54 years. “I say we don’t. It’s completely inappropriate for the character of our historic town. I urge you to reconsider the magnitude of the project and the many negative impacts it will have on our community.”

Only the gas station owner, Julie Van Alyea, the president of Redwood Oil Company, spoke in favor of the renovation.

“This project serves as part of the solution to provide much-needed housing out in Point Reyes Station,” said Ms. Van Alyea, who bought the station in 2018. “I’ve worked for a long time with both environmental health and planning to create a plan that works with the site constraints.”

County planners applied a streamlined review process to the proposal because it is a mixed commercial and residential project that would provide housing. Recent changes in state law allow for expedited review of such developments to address the acute statewide housing shortage. 

“The proposed project would further the county’s goal of creating a range of housing types to meet the diverse needs of the community by adding five residential units to the Point Reyes Station’s overall housing inventory,” staff wrote ahead of the hearing.

Although some of Redwood Oil’s other stations house a restaurant called the Aztec Grill, no restaurant is planned for the Point Reyes location, which doesn’t have a septic system large enough to accommodate one, according to county planner Immanuel Bereket.

Opponents of the project said they strongly supported the development of workforce housing but raised numerous objections to replacing the cramped gas station check-out counter with a 1,900-square-foot convenience store. They had asked the county to conduct a traffic study before deciding whether to approve the project.

“On the weekends, it’s impossible to cross Highway 1 because of all the traffic coming in,” said Bobbi Loeb, who has lived in town for about 50 years. “How is this project going to work without impacting the safety of all of us who live here? It’s a really dangerous intersection, and this project will bring a great deal of traffic.”

Before approving the project, the county added a few conditions intended to address traffic concerns, requiring the addition of crosswalks at the intersections of Highway 1 with Mesa Road and A Street. 

Ms. Van Alyea addressed some other concerns before the hearing, revising her original plan and reconfiguring parking spaces at the pumps to ease access for mobile homes and vehicles hauling large equipment such as horse trailers and chippers.

The renovation would maintain the building’s current footprint but totally reconfigure the interior, making room for two two-bedroom apartments and three one-bedroom apartments, including one affordably priced unit. 

The project will require enclosing the front porch, which village association members regard as a crucial feature of the site. The building was constructed in 1932 near the Point Reyes train station, just behind the current hardware store in the center of town. Once a warehouse for peas and artichokes, the building was moved to its current location a decade later. 

Historian Dewey Livingston recently concluded that the building could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places. But Megan Alton, the zoning administrator who ruled on the application, said the renovations would not detract from the character of the building. 

“There are no additions that are being proposed that would distract from the nature of the structure,” she said. 

Residents also raised environmental concerns about the project, arguing that some of the units would be too close to gas pumps and a 1,000-gallon propane tank. But Ms. Alton said the project would be undergo further review by building inspectors before renovations begin to ensure that it meets relevant state fire and safety codes.

If the Planning Commission approves the project, opponents can appeal to the Board of Supervisors and then to the California Coastal Commission.