Abacoa residents gather petition to stop gas station

JUPITER, Fla. -- Almost 300 residents of the Mallory Creek section of Abacoa have signed a petition to stop a 16-pump gas station on Dakota Drive, saying the business would decrease property values, bring crime and increase traffic.

"This is not the new urbanism concept we thought we were buying into," said Mallory Creek resident John Bonassi, a leader in the effort to stop construction of the gas station that would include a car wash and convenience store.

Opponents must overcome strong support for the project from the town council.

The council approved the gas station is 2004 as part of the overall master plan for Mallory Creek, one of the last of 16 neighborhoods in the gateless Abacoa community where residences are built next to - and on top of - restaurants and offices.

Since then, the council has twice approved extensions to building deadlines for the gas station. The council unanimously approved a special exception last January to allow the car wash and convenience store to be added.

Stopping the station could happen in two ways:

• Approval for the project expires next January. If the property owners, Delray Beach-based New Urban Dakota LLC, have not started the project by then, they would have to ask the council for an extension. Opponents could persuade the council not to approve an extension.
• New Urban Dakota could withdraw its plan.

Some Mallory Creek homebuyers were unaware the gas station was planned when they bought their home. Realtors told them professional offices and restaurants were coming on the vacant property that was zoned commercial, said Sandy Griffin, a semi-retired software engineer who lives in Mallory Creek.

"Nobody mentioned a gas station. Yes, I was naive. I should have done more research," Griffin said.

Councilwoman Wendy Harrison, who moved into Mallory Creek a year ago, said the gas station and convenience store could be an asset to the neighborhood. Harrison would not say whether she would vote for or against another extension for the developer.

"I bought my house knowing the gas station was going to be built. Having schools, homes and businesses in the same area is a fundamental aspect of new urbanism," Harrison said.

Abacoa, opened in 1995, is built on the new urbanism ideal to merge commercial and residential living. The model is that businesses exist alongside homes to serve local residents. That reduces urban sprawl, traffic and pollution.

But the gas station is the antithesis of new urbanism, opponents say. Plans call for the car wash to open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The convenience store and gas station would be open 6 a.m. to midnight.

Opponents also say the project will bring motorists from outside Abacoa, and trucks delivering gasoline and food will clog local roads. Children going to and from nearby Lighthouse Elementary School would be in danger. Those seeking car washes will add to traffic, Griffin said.

Gas, stores and car washes are available nearby on Indiantown Road, Military Trail and Donald Ross Road, she said, and Mallory Creek residents easily can drive there .

"This flies in the face of new urbanism. Studies have shown convenience stores bring crime," Griffin said.

The real issue is designing the size and scale of the project to suit residents, said George de Guardiola, the developer of Abacoa.

"A gas station was planned in that area. That's what new urbanism is all about," he said.