First, there was a lot of fear by the current gas stations in the region that this station might take a significant amount of business in the region. I might agree because Costco members are pretty strong in terms of membership in the region.
Second, yes it is next to a housing district and a community pool. There was a silly suggestion that gas could seep out and possibly get into the pool by some mysterious method. No one could really explain that logic but it was used for a while in fighting off the Costco add.
Third and final...I get the impression that Costco really didn’t go in and bribe up the local political figures like they are used to be handled. A $3k donation to this campaign fund of some guy, and a $20k donation to some community group, and you could have lined up support real quick. Remember, this is Maryland....”land of the free and campaign donations”.
This has happened occasionally due to tank deterioration and subsequent leakage from very old stations. New stations have double-walled tanks, and, I think, some means of monitoring the inter-wall space for leaks.
The law is stupid.
Cracker Barrel wanted to locate near the highway at the edge of our little KY town. They just came to town and publicly announced they were going to do it. They got shot down for all sorts of BS “zoning” reasons.
They waited a year and came back very quietly behind the scenes and paid “proper respect” to the appropriate people. Shazam, we now have a Cracker Barrel.
I wonder if Kenmont Swim and Tennis club is a major political donor to council members.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!