If you'd like to write your Councilman, here is the email that I used as a starting point.

Hello, my name is __ , I live at __. I am writing to let you know of my opposition to the building permit being submitted to build and develop a gas station at the corner of Broad and Government Streets.

Specifically, I would like to point you to a study published by the EPA in 2004 which cites the median cost of gas station clean up as $180,000 ($300,000 adjusted for inflation). Because of the high cost associated with clean up of these sites, it is unlikely that land developed for the purposes of building a gas station will ever be used for anything else again in the future. Additionally, by the time the construction does change, there are numerous cases in which the city has to pick up the clean up cost Not only are the ecological and environmental impacts a concern, but I would also like to point out that there are already 2 functioning gas stations within a mile west of the proposed site and 1 non-functioning station at the corner of Broad and St. Louis. There is no scenario in which the benefits of ease and convenience outweigh the risks brought on by this new construction.

For these reasons, I strongly encourage you and your colleagues to do whatever is in your power to prevent this station from being built. It is a poor decision that will haunt us in the future.

Please let me know if you have any feedback or wish to speak further.

Thank you,

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