Vliet Street gas station sale in Wauwatosa delayed again

A proposal to sell the gas station at Vliet and 60th streets was delayed for a second time at last week's Plan Commission meeting, as neighbors continued to object to a modified plan and commission members sought more information from the buyer.

Longtime operator Tom Kapusta hopes to sell the station to Mandeep Dhawan, owner of a number of area stations. Though the station has pumps and underground tanks and has sold gas and snack goods in the past, for the last couple of years Kapusta has concentrated on car repair, and does not sell gas or other goods.

Dhawan's plan would resurrect the gas sales and operate a convenience store.

In response to residents' objections, Architect Robert Wold, representing Dhawan, presented a modified site plan last week that would include a fence at the back of the property to prevent cars from leaving the gas station through the alley, which drives traffic onto Lombard Court, a short, 10-home cul-de-sac that curls around behind the station.

The new plan also restricts access to the station to one entry on Vliet Street, and one on 60th Street, when currently there are two on each street.

Both of those features are designed to allay the concerns of the Lombard Court residents, who turned out in force at a meeting in January to object to the proposed plan of operation.

Some were still not satisfied. Marilyn Mayr of Lombard Court said Kapusta had been a good neighbor, and there was an existing gas station and convenience store at 55th and Vliet streets. Furthermore, Wold's modifications did not reassure her that gas station customers would not use the alley.

"The alley has become a street," she said.

Virginia Schumann, who lives on Martha Washington Drive, said crime was her concern. She dreaded the prospect of a convenience store that would sell things from behind "bullet-proof glass." (Wold's plan does not specify this.)

And, she said, of criminal activity, "We'll get our share without rolling out the red carpet."

She recommended that the city purchase the lot and set it aside as public parking to serve the growing commerce in the area.

Schumann pointed out the proximity of Milwaukee, across 60th Street, and suggested the gas station would attract criminal activity into Wauwatosa from across the border.

Sharon Eiff of Lombard Court said the corner of 60th and Vliet is already "a complex corner," and said she was concerned that the gas station would exacerbate the problem. David Brossard of Lombard Court suggested that the new owner should be limited to repair work, like Kapusta.

"I think the worst thing we could have is that gas station empty," said Commission member John Albert.

Alderwoman Kathleen Causier, a member of the commission, said she was frustrated that the buyer himself, Dhawan, hadn't appeared at either Plan Commission meeting held on the matter. Wold said Dhawan was in India tending to his elderly parents, but could be contacted if the commission had questions for him.

The panel approved a directive to have staff draw up questions on his background, his other stations and the way they operated. Commission members Jody Lowe and Gloria Stearns said they would like addresses and police reports for the other stations he operated.

Kapusta said he had been trying to sell the property for a while, and the only thing standing in his way now was city approval. At 60, having lost his brothers - partners in the business - at young ages, he called himself "the last one standing" and said he was ready to retire.

"I'm at this point where, I've got some decent health, let's take and enjoy that while we can."

The matter will come back to the commission next month.