The Marin County Planning Commission imposed sharp restrictions on a proposed remodel of the Point Reyes gas station last week, echoing the concerns of residents who said the project would strip the building of its historic character and compound traffic problems at the busiest intersection in town.

To the delight of the project’s opponents, the commissioners overruled the recommendation of county staff who had concluded that the project met zoning requirements and would add five badly needed apartments to West Marin’s housing stock.

“It’s clear we need more housing in West Marin, but not at the cost of our community’s health,” said Kathy Hunting, one of around 45 residents who attended the planning commission hearing last Thursday. “If you look at potential housing sites in West Marin from a public health perspective, it’s hard to identify a less appropriate site for new housing than the Point Reyes gas station property.”

A deputy zoning administrator approved the project in February, but the Point Reyes Station Village Association appealed the decision, raising a litany of concerns, many arising from the proposed expansion of the 200-square-foot gas station kiosk into a 1,900-square-foot convenience store.

The commissioners voted 5-1 to approve the project but added several conditions that addressed issues raised in the appeal. They required the developer to retain the building’s front porch, eliminate a proposed 1,000-gallon commercial propane tank and cut the size of the proposed convenience store by more than half. 

They allowed the housing units but recommended larger windows and venting to add light and air to the apartments. Commissioners called for increasing ceiling heights from 8 feet to 10 feet, redesigning the doors and windows to be consistent with the “historic character of the neighborhood” and using muted, earth-tone colors for the building’s exterior.

Commissioner Chris Desser said she had never seen such overwhelming opposition to a proposal in her nearly eight years representing West Marin. “We have not heard a single voice in favor of this plan as submitted,” she said.

Redwood Oil, which owns the station, has until Tuesday to appeal the commission’s decision to the Board of Supervisors. It is expected to do so.

To make space for the mini mart, the company had proposed enclosing the porch, which opponents regard as a key historical feature. The project includes two two-bedroom apartments and three one-bedroom apartments, with four located at the rear of the building and one near the corner of A Street and Highway 1, directly across from the gas pumps. The renovation would not expand the building’s footprint.

Steve Antonaros, the village association’s president, said the proposed elimination of the porch had “triggered” everyone in the community. “What’s at issue here is really a transformation of a small-scale, agricultural coastal village feel to something that could exist anywhere in a suburban or urban setting,” he said.

Besides arguing that the remodel would compromise the building’s character and worsen traffic at already busy intersections, the appeal raised health and safety concerns related to gas emissions.

The appeal also cited a provision of the county’s Local Coastal Program that limits the size of gas station convenience stores to no more than 15 percent of the square footage of the building that houses them. That rule would restrict the mini mart to no more than 840 square feet. 

But the California legislature recently amended state housing laws with the intention of giving local officials more flexibility to approve housing projects that include affordable housing units. 

At the outset of the hearing, Jeremy Tejirian, Marin’s deputy planning director, said those state statues gave commissioners the discretion to approve the plans. He said there was no “bright line” that determines how they should proceed in cases where state law and the L.C.P. are in conflict. 

“It’s really up to you,” he told the commission during the hearing. “We recommend that you do it because we feel like the housing that this offers is an important community benefit.”

They chose not to. 

Like the procession of residents who spoke out against the project, the six commissioners stressed that they support boosting the village’s housing stock but felt the gas station plan was too flawed.

They shared health concerns raised during the hearing by Ms. Hunting, a retired epidemiologist and Point Reyes Station resident who said health studies have found that hazardous chemicals at gas stations, particularly benzene, are associated with higher rates of childhood leukemia.

Other speakers cited potential dangers posed by traffic at the site, which is close to West Marin School. They took issue with a study that concluded the project would not draw more cars.

“I would urge you to require safe pedestrian access to the mini mart, which will be a magnet for children after school and for visitors looking for directions and facilities,” said Mark Switzer, the village association member who filed the appeal. “If you go to a new town, where do you get information? Where do you go to the bathroom? Where do you get whatever you need? You go to the gas station.”

Residents also argued that the propane tank would further disrupt traffic because the parking spot allotted to it appeared too small to accommodate large vehicles. 

Serena Fritz-Cope, who lives across the street from the station, worried that the propane pump would cause people driving campers and trailers to double-park on A Street. “I think this spot in Point Reyes is probably the busiest, most confusing spot in the whole town,” she said. “And the plan that is being proposed would just make it even more intense.” 

Along with traffic concerns, the most frequently cited criticism by opponents related to the elimination of the front porch. 

“This is what you see when you’re coming down into town,” said Inverness resident Marshall Livingston. “It’s the northern entrance to the designated historic zone of Point Reyes Station, and to lose that will be just a huge loss.”

But Mark Loper, an attorney for Redwood Oil, pointed out that the property has been renovated several times since it was built in 1932 and moved to its current location from the center of town a decade later.

He said the proposed changes were prompted both by the housing shortage and changing economics. The influx of electric vehicles has driven down the demand for gas by 17 percent since 2016, he said.

“The new apartments, convenience store expansion and retail propane tank will keep the business in operation and prevent it from returning to its old and blighted condition,” he said.

Although opponents of the project dominated the meeting, a few supported it in written comments submitted before the hearing.

“Unfortunately, there are those in West Marin that simply object to any change whatsoever,” Mark Burton wrote. “The proposed change seems to be very modest and there is simply no historic value to his building just because it is old. There are plenty of other old buildings in town that are rotting away, and these groups should put their effort and money into preserving those.”