Hazelwood BP Owner Wants to Re-open, Working to Fix Uncertified Gas Tanks

A Hazelwood gas station owner is looking to re-open but has a few hurdles in in path including major updates to his gas tanks.

Harinder Singh approached Hazelwood City Council back in October of 2012 about being the owner of the service station, formerly know as Hazelwood BP, located at 7000 North Hanley Road.

At one point it was a full-service gas station where minor auto repairs also occurred. Once the gas station closed, repairs were still performed.

In October, Singh found out when reapplying for the special land use permit for the property that current Hazelwood regulations require a new special land use permit since the station has been closed for more than six months. Law passed in the spring requires permits stagnant 6 months or longer without the business opening to restart the application process.

Because of this Singh was concerned that he would not be able to meet the Department of Natural Resources’ deadlines regarding the gas storage tanks if he was required to go through Hazelwood’s process.

Singh said the business originally closed because he was leasing the property and the tenant was evicted for failure to pay rent. He stated the special land use permit lapsed during the lengthy eviction process.

At that time, Singh was working with the Department of Natural Resources to get the gas tanks certified, and code administrator Pat McSheehy said Singh contacted him about the tanks.

"He is in the process of getting the service lines to the tanks repaired and said he would contact the city when the work was complete to obtain the permit," McSheehy said at a November city council meeting.

At that time, the situation changed a bit as city manger Edwin Carlstrom gave an update on it at the same meeting.

"The property owner wants to open the station without going through the process of applying for a new permit," Carlstrom said. "He plans to operate a vehicle service station/minimart and does not plan to do any vehicle repairs.

By law Singh will have to seek council approval of a new permit before he can re-open the gas station. Carlstrom said Singh has a current business license that has never lapsed, but added that the gas business is expensive.

"When you get into this underground tank restoration sometimes they can get so costly that it may not be economically feasible to repair," Carlstrom said.

As of right now, the gas station is still closed with no signs on the property indicating it will re-open soon.