SIMI VALLEY : Shell Gas Station Hearing Postponed

The Simi Valley City Council on Monday postponed for one month a hearing on Shell Oil Co.’s plan to build a gas station, mini-mart and carwash despite strong opposition from neighbors.

At a Simi Valley Planning Commission meeting on Aug. 19, nearby residents charged that the proposed station, at Yosemite Avenue just north of the Simi Valley Freeway, would create noise, traffic and crime problems and would violate the city’s development rules.

After the commission denied Shell’s proposal in a 3-2 vote, the oil company appealed the decision to the City Council. The appeal hearing was scheduled for Monday, but Shell submitted a letter asking that it be postponed until Nov. 16.

In the letter, F. Duggan Smith, Shell’s area real estate manager, said the company needed more time to prepare its case.

But some residents asserted that this request was politically motivated because it could place the decision in the hands of newly elected officials.

On Nov. 3, Simi Valley voters will choose a mayor and two council members.

Councilman Michael W. Piper, an appointee who is not running to retain his seat, said the Shell project should be decided by the same city leaders who have followed it through previous reviews.