The owner of Point Reyes Station’s gas station wants to convert the adjacent building—a fixture in town since the 1930s—into a convenience store and five new apartments, one of which would be set aside for affordable housing. If it goes forward, the plan would likely require the current tenants, Blue Waters Kayaking and the Ink Paper Plate print shop, to relocate. The gas station would continue operating during and after the proposed renovation.
According to plans submitted to the county last month, the new units would maintain the same footprint as the existing 6,000-square-foot building, which also houses a vacant auto repair shop and two additional rental units. The front porch would be enclosed and incorporated into the renovated property.
The gas station checkout counter, now located in a cramped space, would be expanded into a 1,930-square-foot convenience store. Three two-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units would range from roughly 600 square feet to 850 square feet.
An upgraded septic system would be installed in the parking lot behind the building, which was moved to its current location from another spot in town shortly after World War II.
The larger apartment units would face A Street, while the smaller ones would be located at the rear of the building, facing the parking lot. County regulations require developers of any property with five or more residential units to set aside at least 20 percent of the homes for affordable housing—in this case, one apartment.
Immanuel Bereket, a senior planner with the Community Development Agency, said the county needs additional information about the proposed septic system upgrade before it can process the application. Within 60 days of receiving the completed application, the county will schedule a public hearing on the proposal.
The property’s owner, Julie Van Alyea, did not respond to requests from the Light for additional information about her plans. Ms. Van Alyea is the president of Redwood Oil, a California company that owns 23 stations from Cotati to the Oregon border. She bought the station in 2018 and changed the name from Greenbridge Gas & Auto to “Point Reyes Station.”
Once used as a warehouse for peas and artichokes, the building was originally located near the Point Reyes train depot, just behind the Building Supply store in the center of town, historian Dewey Livingston said. When the train station shut down, farmers began shipping their produce from their farms in trucks and the empty warehouse was sometimes used as a dance hall.
The building was moved to its current spot, where it was converted into a feed store and gas station, sometime around 1947. Vonsen’s Feed was operated by a Petaluma family and the gas station was part of the Associated Oil Company, whose logo was a capitol letter A flanked with wings. The station, known as the “Flying A,” also had a repair shop.
For years, the business was owned by Joe Horrick, who later sold the place to his assistant, Oliver “Bud” Hendren, who named it Bud’s Auto Service. Both men were local legends.
The building attached to the auto shop held a wide array of tenants over the years, including a jewelry shop owned by Andrew Romanoff, a Russian prince.
Pamalah MacNeily, a Forest Knolls resident who owns Blue Waters Kayaking with her husband, John Granatir, said it will be extremely difficult for the business to relocate if the housing plan goes forward. Blue Waters has operated from its current location for three years.
“I’m worried that we’re going to be displaced,” she said. “We love Point Reyes, we love the area and we want to stay. It’s very unnerving.”
Sirima Sataman, a Bolinas resident who rents the print shop and studio next door, declined to comment on the proposed conversion of the property, where her business has operated since 2014.