By a vote of 3-1, the Ocean View town council on Tuesday voted down a proposal to bring eight gas pumps to Route 26.
Councilman Roy Thomas said that, because three votes were needed to turn down the proposal, he moved to approve the gas station and then voted against his own motion — a move Solicitor Dennis Schrader agreed with.
Only four councilmen were eligible to vote on the proposal, as Councilman Perry Mitchell recused himself, owing to his position on the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission when the proposal came before that body.
“Convenience stores with gas pumps generate high volumes of traffic,” argued Thomas. “The entrance (to the gas station) is opposite Savannah’s Landing, causing concerns about safe vehicular movement.”
Thomas said Route 26 has already been developed with other commercial uses, but that a gas station is not in character with the businesses already in existence.
The gas station proposal was one part of a larger proposal by Baltimore-based Balsamo & Norino Properties for a convenience store and several commercial spaces on Route 26. With the denial of the gas station project, Bret Martine of Century Engineering, representing the owner, said they will go back to the drawing board.
“With the amount of meetings that we had and just hearing things out in town, we did feel as if it would be a nay tonight,” said Martine. “We gave it a try and did as much as we could to answer concerns.”
Now, Martine said, the owner will consider what to do with his proposal for the land.
“We are going to take time to re-group and see what better planning we can do on the site,” said Martine.
They could still build a convenience store, said Mayor Gordon Wood.
“Convenience store does not mean gas station,” said Wood. “You can see convenience stores without gas stations. I shall not support gas stations at this location or at any location on Route 26.”
Wood said the town is experiencing a traffic disaster on Route 26, which is scheduled for a project to widen it to two travel lanes and a turn along through the entire town and beyond, but first the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) has to come up with the money.
In his review of the code for the vote, Wood said he did not believe gas stations to be a permitted use in the town. He said gas stations are neither essential nor desirable.
Councilman Bill Wichmann refused to give his reasons in support of the proposal, stating only that the comments from the other councilmen made his view a “moot point.”
Councilman Richard Nippes said he agreed with Wood that the gas station was not desirable for the small town of Ocean View.
“My strongest reason for opposition is the fact that the gas pumps would be located very near an ecologically sensitive area,” said Nippes. “No one has convinced me that the gasoline is going to be cleaned out of the water before it enters the ground.”
In other news:
· The town council approved a motion to request an opinion from the Public Integrity Commission as to whether it is a conflict of interest for town council members to also serve on the Historical Society board or as a member of the Citizen Auxiliary Patrol.
“We are doing what we are doing for the good of Ocean View. I don’t want to sit on something that could belittle the town. If it is a conflict, I will immediately resign,” said Councilman Richard Nippes, who also sits on the Historical Society board. “I am very interested in this process. I would like a definitive explanation.”
· The council approved a four-month experimental change to citizen participation. For four months, citizens will be allowed, on a first-come, first-served basis, to speak at the beginning of each meeting, but only about specific agenda items. They will also be allowed to speak at the end of the meetings. Only people who did not speak in the beginning will be allowed to speak at the end, said Wood. The motion was approved unanimously.