Don't Build a Gas Station / Carwash on Our Doorstep

In the 2007 recession, Truckee was left with an unbuilt commercial project at the start of Prosser Dam Road, originally part of the Gray's Crossing Planned Development. A decade later, a new developer has plans to break ground here with some changes, and they have asked to add a gas station / carwash / minimart at a prominent and congested location. Join our voices in telling the developer and the Town of Truckee that a gas station / carwash / minimart is not what our community needs at the entrance to a residential neighborhood. Signatures and comments will be presented this June to the Truckee Town Planners, who also welcome your direct input on alternatives for this proposal.

This is not what homeowners agreed-to. The plans for this area were circulated to long-time Truckee residents leading into 2008, and presented to attract homeowners to Gray's Crossing. The 2008 plans included a 7100sqft grocery store, always described as "Trader Joes or similar." The current developers and planners are quick to point-out that a gas-station was always "in plan" near that grocery store, but a side-by-side comparison of the proposals shows significant changes: the 2008 gas station "in plan" was hidden behind a large grocery store, and interior to the development, while the new proposal enlarges the footprint of the gas station, adds an automated car wash, and shrinks the grocery store to a 2800sqft mini-mart. In this new proposal, this gas-station complex is prominently at the entrance to a community of single-family and apartment homes, and in place of the church or much-needed community-center space in the 2008 plans. This significantly changes the overall facility from one which was intended to serve residents to one which is designed to attract traffic from the nearby highways, at the significant cost of noise, traffic, and light-pollution for the neighborhood.

Truckee doesn't need another gas station. Driving past seven open Truckee gas stations near the i80 corridor finds no wait, even when Town is largely jammed with visitors. There is similarly no shortage of available car-wash bays or convenience stores. There is however a continuing trend of gas stations closing their doors in our generation: there are two gas stations which are currently shuttered, and several were converted to other uses years ago. One of these has been vacant for years, waiting for the funding for soil and groundwater clean-up, a problem caused by leaking underground tanks. Looking forward, electric vehicle sales are a growing fraction of the car market and are currently projected to be more than 65% of new cars sold in California by 2025, so we can expect to see even less of a need for gas stations by the time this project is finished.

This is not what our schoolkids need. Given proximity to the Alder Creek Middle School, this commercial area can expect to see quite a bit of vehicle and foot traffic, and a significant number of teenagers using the area as a hangout. There are many commercial options which would provide these students a better environment than a gas-station convenience store. Further, there is already considerable congestion to and from ACMS every school day, and attracting interstate traffic to this area creates new dangers.

We are concerned about the noise and congestion created by a car wash, and the vehicular and human traffic drawn to the neighborhood by the gas station and convenience store. There is a great opportunity to improve the quality of life for locals who are in this area daily, by instead providing a facility needed by the community. Beyond the church or community center initially proposed, other promising suggestions for this site could help homebuilders score Green Building points in the USGBC LEED system, including: arts and entertainment center, bank, daycare center, fire or police station, laundry, library, medical / dental office, pharmacy, post office, restaurant, neighborhood-serving retail, office building, or simply open space.

After three years of discussions with the Town, the developer first presented their plan to residents in April 2019. In this first public meeting, residents were told by the developer that a gas station was needed, that a carwash / minimart format was generally preferred for a higher-profile gas station, and that the goal of the change was to attract interstate traffic to this area. Several residents at this meeting spoke-out that they did not see this gas station complex as needed, and specifically did not want this built near our homes, yet received no assurance from either the developer or the Town that any part of the development was open for discussion or feedback. Our only recourse at this point is to petition the Town of Truckee Planners, telling them not to approve a gas station / carwash / minimart for development at this location, and encourage other options. Please sign and share this petition to show your support, and contact the Planning Division directly to give them your input on how this site could be better-used. 

Given the impact to the community, and the potential to build something which could be of greater community benefit, better-protect and enhance Lake Tahoe's unique natural environment, or simply create a more profitable business, we recommend that something other than a gas station / carwash / minimart, or even nothing at all, would be a better choice for this location.