The California Coastal Commission appears likely to dismiss an appeal of the controversial project that would bring a full-scale convenience store and five apartments, including two affordable units, to the Point Reyes gas station.
In a report posted last week, the commission’s staff recommended rejecting an appeal from the Point Reyes Station Village Association, which has argued that the development would undermine the historic character of the town. The association contends that a chain store would hurt local businesses, compound traffic at the town’s busiest intersections and strip the building of its historic architectural features.
Yet coastal commission staff recommended against holding a full hearing on the project, finding that it would not violate state or local development regulations but would add two badly needed units of deed-restricted affordable housing.
“While the project would involve alterations to a building of special interest in a historic district, it would not significantly alter the character or appearance of the building,” the staff report states. “The design would also be consistent with the surrounding community character.”
The commissioners could overrule the staff finding at their Nov. 14 meeting, when they are scheduled to rule on the merit of the appeal. But they generally do not hold a full hearing if staff finds that the appeal does not raise substantial issues.
The report came as a bitter disappointment to village association members who have been circulating a petition against the project. “The staff report reads like a case for the prosecution,” said David Morris, one of two members who signed the appeal. “It insists the proposed store is not a chain, even though Redwood Oil has more than 20 others.”
The project would not enlarge the footprint of the building, which was built in 1932 and moved about a decade later to its location on Highway 1 between Mesa Road and A Street. It would reconfigure the commercial space, which houses Blue Waters Kayaking, a print shop and an empty auto repair shop as well as two unpermitted apartments. In their place, the redesign would feature three two-bedroom apartments and two one-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from about 575 square feet to 815 square feet.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors approved the renovation last July on a 4-0 vote. Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, citing state conflict-of-interest laws, recused himself because he owns property nearby.
Village association members say they support affordable housing but have raised health concerns about placing units so close to gas pumps. Their biggest concern has been the expansion of the current 215-square-foot cashier’s stand with a 1,719-square-foot convenience store.
“A decision by the coastal commission not to hear the case will set a precedent that threatens every small town on the coast with an invasion of large chain stores,” Mr. Morris said.
The association has posted an online petition on change.org, calling on the commission to grant their appeal a full hearing.
“Point Reyes Station doesn’t need a large convenience store that will triple traffic at the most confusing and dangerous downtown intersection,” it states. “Point Reyes Station doesn’t need a store selling tobacco and vaping products within 1,000 feet of our middle school and youth center.”
The petition does not mention that those products are already for sale at the gas station, nor does it mention an issue they have focused on in their opposition to the project: the potential removal of the building’s front porch, which they consider a key architectural feature.
Redwood Oil’s latest plans would retain the porch or replace it with one of similar design. “The renovation of the building will largely maintain or imitate its previous design and harmonize with the surrounding historic community character,” the staff report states.
Under the proposed design, the convenience store would take up 20 percent of the 5,500-square-foot building—just 5 percent more than Marin’s coastal zoning rules allow. But the staff report pointed to the state’s density bonus law, which allows concessions for projects that dedicate 20 percent of their units to affordable housing. “There is no substantial coastal resource concern requiring the commission’s involvement in this case,” staff wrote.