Overflow Crowd Speaks Out Against Proposed Curtis Park Safeway Gas Station

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Hundreds of residents showed up to a meeting as a battle over building a new gas station in an old Sacramento neighborhood heats up.

Developers of the new Curtis Park Village say the gas station is critical to their plan.

There were 200 chairs available for the meeting, but so many Curtis Park neighbors showed up that a big crowd had to listen from outside.

What they wanted to hear was why Curtis Park village developers are now insisting on building a gas station that wasn't part of the original plans, years in the making.

The neighborhood association says there is no need for it.

"There are gas stations at all four corners of Curtis Park," said Sierra Curtis Park Neighborhood Association President Eric Johnson. "Building's already up, sticks in the ground, now he's saying 'Oh I want to put a gas station up' it's a surprise."

Petrovich Development counters that there's a very good reason for the change. They say they need Safeway as a retail anchor in the village with new homes and businesses.

"And I think having a class a grocer with union jobs would be good for the neighborhood," consultant Rob Fong said.

A Safeway vice president told neighbors in no uncertain terms that if there is no gas station, there will be no building in the shopping center.

But neighbors are adamant over what they are calling an 11th-hour switch.

Curtis Park Character Advocates argues the change will completely ruin the look and feel of what the project was supposed to be about in the first place.

"Putting a mega gas station, a high-volume, discount loyalty gas station right in the center of what was supposed to be an urban village is completely contrary," said Kathleen Ave.

The initial decision on all of this will be made by the planning commission, which will likely be appealed, when it will then come down to a City Council vote. That could be a ways off.