350Marin and Allies Protest Novato Costco Mega-Gas Plan

Feb 23, 2021

Silke Valentine, 350Marin Steering Committee member and Marin Sierra Club Board member speaks at the rally

On Saturday, 2/20/21, a crowd organized by Novato citizens and environmental allies 350Marin, 350 Bay Area, the Sierra Club, Green Novato and Sustainable Novato gathered by the Vintage Oaks Mall to protest plans by Costco to build a large new gas station next to its Vintage Oaks store.

Excerpt from KRON 4 coverage:

‘Video shows a crowd marching with signs along a sidewalk. One sign reads, “Costco, stop fueling climate chaos.”

via https://www.indybay.org/

This after the city proposed a 1.15-acre gas station that would be located in the southern portion of the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center.

Protesters want to send a message to Novato City Council, according to a flyer sent out organizing the protest.

They say the proposal goes against all of the hard work Novato and Marin County residents put into transitioning to a clean and green economy.

The project would include a 10,244-square-foot fuel dispenser canopy, 14 dispensers (28 fueling positions), three 40,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tanks, one 1,500-gallon additive UST, an approximately 125 square-foot controller enclosure, a vapor processing unit, directional stripping and an approximately 6,086 square-foot net increase in landscaped areas.

If approved, the construction is expected to begin in June with an aim of completion by September.’

You can read the full KRON article here.

Protestors said the gas station was unneeded, and represented a dangerous continuation of fossil fuel infrastructure build-out at a time when the Novato City Council just three months ago declared a Climate Emergency and promised it would guide the town’s future planning. See what local citizens and organizers had to say about the project by clicking on the video image below: