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Uploaded: Wednesday, September 5, 2012, 7:53 AM
Updated: Friday, September 7, 2012, 3:13 PM
Pleasanton council OKs gas station, new Starbucks drive-through coffee shop next to Safeway
Construction will start next month with both facilities to open in early 2013
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by Jeb Bing
Pleasanton Weekly Staff
Photo
 | Safeway was given the OK by the Pleasanton City Council Tuesday night to start construction on a self-serve gas station and a new Starbucks coffee shop with drive-through service next to its Lifestyle supermarket at Valley and Bernal avenues.
The council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to approve the Safeway plan after more than an hour of discussion over potential traffic tie-ups at the already-busy intersection, one of the city's most congested. In the end, the only stipulation made, however, at the insistence of Mayor Jennifer Hosterman, was that Safeway also install at least three electric vehicle charging stations in the store's parking lot
Councilman Matt Sullivan, who opposed building the new Safeway supermarket three years ago, also voted against allowing the company to add a gas station at its store.
Safeway representative David Bowldy said construction of both the gas station and the coffee shop will start next month with both likely to open early next year.
When the new Starbucks is completed, Starbucks will close its existing coffee house in the shopping center across Bernal. Starbucks also operates a coffee shop inside the Lifestyle supermarket as well as at its other supermarket in Pleasanton, located at Santa Rita Road and Valley Avenue.
Preliminary work has already started at the Lifestyle store site where Starbucks and the gas station will be built. The work is part of overall infrastructure work to prepare the ¾-acre site for its new uses. With Tuesday night's council approval, Safeway can now apply for permits to start construction work in earnest.
The three-bay, nine-pump self-service gasoline station will be built in front of the main entrance to Wells Fargo Bank with Starbucks planned for the remainder of the site, between the gas station and the northbound I-680 off-ramp.
The station will have the same hours as the supermarket, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A small operations building will house the station cashier, where small items, such as candy, will be sold, but the 24-foot-high kiosk will not be a mini-mart, Safeway officials said.
Three sets of three fueling pumps will line each of three bays, with dual hoses to accommodate 15 vehicles at a time, with a "stacking" area capable of holding another 18 vehicles. The pumps will offer low and high octane gasoline and diesel fuel.
Two underground fuel storage tanks will each hold 30,000 gallons of fuel, with one for low-octane gasoline and the second divided into three compartments to hold mid- and high-octane gasoline and diesel fuel. Suppliers will make an estimated three deliveries a day over a 24-hour period seven days a week.
A new CVS store is also planned at the southern boundary of the Safeway Gateway Center site.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Jenn, a resident of another community, on Sep 5, 2012 at 9:15 am I can't believe this is being allowed! Isn't there a gas station right across the street? And Seriously, 3 electric car charging stations!!! Traffic is gonna be a nightmare....
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Posted by Barbara L, a resident of the Vineyard Avenue neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 9:38 am I think it's terrific! Last week we saved 90 cents a gallon off the gas price at Safeway. We filled up our tank and saved about $18. It's not convenient to drive to the Livermore or Dublin Safeway when you need gas, so we're thrilled with the addition!
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Posted by Mary, a resident of the Vineyard Avenue neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 9:54 am Completely agree with Barbara!! we saved 1.00 a gallon off the gas price, it was a nightmare driving to Livermore on a holiday weekend to be able to use it!
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Posted by FnSuite, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 10:30 am Awesome! gas and coffee. I can fill up the Hummer and charge the Volt at the same time. Now if we can get the city of pleasanton's traffic dept to program the lights to change red at all the intersections when there is no cross traffic (or any cars for that matter). I can plan on filling my tank every other day. I can't wait.
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Posted by Arroyo, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 10:31 am I agree that the station should be built. Looking forward to not having to drive to Dublin to garner the savings.
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Posted by Tom, a resident of the Pleasanton Heights neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 3:42 pm So happy to hear the news about the gas station. I have been going to Safeway in Dublin for gas, now it will be convenient.
I have save as much as 8 cents per gallon.
As usual Matt Sullivan was a no vote. So glad he is going to be termed out.
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Posted by Tom, a resident of the Pleasanton Heights neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 3:44 pm That was 80 cents oer gallon
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Posted by Conservative Intellectual, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 3:54 pm The city knuckled under to the union thugs at Safeway. I'll never shop there even if it means saving $8.00 per gallon. The unions drive up everybody's prices. Don't be fooled by the savings. As the price for admission to these illusery savings that the liars are refering to, the union thugs and trolls demand that you respect "honest" wages and "safe" working conditions for all Americans. Our country is going way down.
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Posted by Neighborly Neighbor, a resident of the Laguna Oaks neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 4:36 pm My family and neighbors are totally supportive! Love the drive-through Starbucks addition as well as the Safeway (discounted) gas station. Now if one could open a really good fitness center (Club Sport, Express Fitness, etc. are many exits away), then this area would be more complete.
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Posted by Fossil Fuel Fred, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 8:58 pm Fantastic! After sitting in the Starbuck's drive-thru line and wasting gas, I can go fill up my SUV at Safeway or Chevron. At least the gas still costs less than the coffee.
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Posted by No Worries, a resident of the Amador Estates neighborhood, on Sep 5, 2012 at 10:30 pm Don't worry about the skyrocketing price of gas.
Remember that Jerry McNerney, and his merry band of fellow socialists, will soon be coming out with "liquid algae" to power America.
Jerry, you'll be coming out with the above soon, eh?
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Posted by Ben Johansen, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on Sep 6, 2012 at 8:39 am Of course Hosterman demanded 3 electric charging stations. Which I'm OK with as long as they are not 'free' of charge. It's complete BS that the other charging stations in town are 'free', meaning we all pay for that person to drive their electric car. Where are the free gas pumps Mayor Hosterman?
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Posted by No More Stooges, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 6, 2012 at 10:13 am If using those charging stations is going to be "free" at taxpayer's expense, that is a total outrage. Why should a taxpayer be paying for someone else's transportation? This would be another reason of why it is imperative to get lid of the left-wing loons on our city council. Hosterman and Sulivan are termed out (thank goodness!!!). Now let's get rid of Cook-Callio, and don't vote in anymore left-wing loons!
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Posted by Claudette , a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 6, 2012 at 4:40 pm Can't wait to use them both ~ I remember the first time I used a drive through for coffee. It was in Oregon with my sister and I wondered why we didn't have any in CA ~ That was easily over 15 years ago. With every cup of coffee they put a chocolate covered coffee bean on top, to pop in your mouth before that first sip, as a thank you ~ hint....
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Posted by Resident, a member of the Lydiksen Elementary School community, on Sep 6, 2012 at 8:02 pm Matt Sullivan is the only one with a brain on our city council. How many people did Jennifer Hosterman please with those charging stations and how much did they end up costing (Safeway shoppers will pay in your cost of groceries)? If she wants to be a do-gooder, she should go plant some trees in along the freeway at Muirwood Park where the freeway is at a higher grade than the park and the noise travels all the way to Foothill Road. Maybe she does not care about this part of town either.
The traffic at 680 and Bernal is a mess. Too many cars and everyone trying to get right or left in such a short distance before the Safeway store. I wonder if anyone has studied the number of accidents in that area since we got ANOTHER Safeway. I think Safeway is overrated and overpriced. The gas station in Dublin is so crowded they have to pay two attendants for crowd control at the pumps and to keep the parking lot flowing (which is really does not). The Safeway in Dublin created traffic issues on the road with Target, too crowded and too many people going in and out of driveways in a short distance again. Safeway parking spots are too small everywhere and they don't use the diaganal stripes. I think you just take your life and your property (car) and hope you make it home without having an accident.
I'll keep shopping in Dublin at Target, Grocery Outlet, and Sprouts. I save a ton of money and can get in and out of these stores safely, and the quality of groceries is great. The addition of a drivethrough Starbucks will likely just add to the mess with a long cue of cars. Why they didn't go into the old bank that is now a tutoring center (near Peet's at Valley and Hopyard), I'll never understand! It was set up for drivethrough already.
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Posted by hey, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 6, 2012 at 8:32 pm I am glad that Safeway gas is coming. I commute to Hayward everyday and some of the highest gas prices I see are in Pleasanton. I think it's time that our stations had some competition.
If you don't like Safeway... or any other store... vote with your $$$... don't shop there. And if they need two full time attendants to monitor traffic... that's two more jobs that are coming to Pleasanton.
It's about time we got drive through coffee shops... they have them virtually every where else in the country.
Oh, and I love comments like this one...'The addition of a drivethrough Starbucks will likely just add to the mess with a long cue of cars. Why they didn't go into the old bank that is now a tutoring center (near Peet's at Valley and Hopyard), I'll never understand! It was set up for drivethrough already' or... 'I don't want a WalMart grocery, they should have had a Whole Foods there instead'. As if the city of Pleasanton can tell a business they must open a location in Pleasanton and where they must do it.
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Posted by Jim, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 7, 2012 at 6:47 am I welcome the new gas station. We need the competition to help keep prices down.
As for a new Starbucks, well...
I suppose there are enough people around who enjoy overpriced coffee with strange flavors added to it. There will be 2 Starbucks in the new Safeway shopping center, and there are 2 others in the old Safeway shopping center. Besides who knows how many more in the area.
I make my own espresso at home, and I don't add vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, spearmint or whatever these new odd concoctions are.To each their own.
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Posted by Kevin, a resident of the Foothill Knolls neighborhood, on Sep 7, 2012 at 9:47 am Love the gas station but 3 Starbucks within a couple hundred feet of each other? Common folks, this is not the Pleasanton I know and love. Shame on the planning department and City council for allowing this. This is monopoly thrown in your face.
Attract some alternative coffee shops that make this beautiful shopping center unique for our community.
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Posted by Daniel Bradford, a member of the Foothill High School community, on Sep 7, 2012 at 11:46 am Electric cars are the future--and not the far future but the near future. I'm glad to see that the Mayor of Pleasanton and the Council have the wisdom to see that and to insist on encouraging the infrastructure that will support the spread of electric-only automobiles.
In ten years, you'll be glad they did. Well, most of you will...some of you, I've observed, are chronically dissatisfied.
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Posted by Resident, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Sep 7, 2012 at 12:35 pm Only in the West would people see electric cars as environmentally friendly. For most of the country electricity still comes from coal not solar or wind power. That being said, even electricity costs money - a lot of money....so those who use electric cars should have to "pay the pump" to charge their cars. I too welcome the new Safeway gas station, we drive out to the Livermore one to fill up. Safeway is a great community corporation.
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