Chase Bank Looks to Build Branch at Blithedale-Camino Alto Gas Station Site

Five years after its previous owners battled to get City Hall’s approval to expand a gas at one of Mill Valley’s most landmark intersections, the current owners of the 36,000-square-foot property at 630 East Blithedale Ave. at Camino Alto are hoping to sell it and have it transformed into a Chase Bank.

The proposal (attached at right), which went before the Mill Valley Planning Commission in an informal study session Monday night, calls for the demolition of the existing Mill Valley Gas Station at the site and the construction of a nearly 3,500-square-foot bank branch with two drive-thru ATM stations at the site.

Property owners Mo and A.G, Mashhoon of Oakland-based Mash Petroleum did not appear at the meeting, but Chase Bank architect Douglas Fong did, telling the commission that the bank conglomerate is “very sensitive to the traffic issues in this area” and that the plan called for reducing the number of access points to the property.

“We were attracted to this site because of the high visibility on the corner,” Fong said of the site, noting that the company was still in negotiations to buy the site. “We see it as vital to our company’s ability to extend its brand and offer convenient services in this area.”

The proposal calls for a 3,475-square-foot, single-story building, though its façade would be 26 feet, 7 inches tall at its highest point. The building would actually face away from the corner at a 45-degree angle, putting its parking lot and its two proposed drive-thru ATM stations away from the street front.

Fong showed a series of photos of similarly sized Chase Bank developments elsewhere in California, but repeatedly emphasized that Chase was open to input of the commission and the community on the design of the building.

“We’re here to listen,” he said. “Mill Valley is a unique and special area. We’re interested in doing what we can to do a building here that is appropriate for this site.”

The commissioners gave Fong and his team plenty to consider, rattling off concerns that included the proposed location and angle of the building, its height, the corporate look, feel and color of its signs and the need to have the building materials be “authentic.”

After seeing a rough design of the building that Fong insisted was open for plenty of input, each commission said Chase would need to do better.

“One of the great things about Mill Valley is that it doesn’t have strip mall architecture and that’s something we’ve taken great pains to safeguard against,” Commissioner Steve Geiszler said. “What you’re going to propose will need to fit into the unique character of our town

“I don’t think that’s even remotely close to something we would find palatable here,” said Commissioner Ricardo Capretta.

Andrew Brack, president of Terrax Environmental, a consulting firm in Southern California that specializes in environmental cleanup, said he was responsible for delivering the site to Chase by removing the three unleaded and diesel fuel tanks and related piping underground. He said the site has no current problems with the California Environmental Protection Agency.

Norine Ferrante, owner Gira Polli restaurant across the street whose design Fong said the preliminary design mimicked in terms of its angle and facing away from the street, said she supported the proposal.

Commission Co-Chair Heidi Richardson recommended that Chase come back for another study session on the proposed design before diving into the formal public hearing process.

Chase would need to garner a conditional use permit and building and go through a full environmental review, Planning Director Mike Moore said.

In 2008, previous property owners Paul Ghafoori of Mill Valley and Glen Larsen of Belvedere proposed a $3.2 million project at the site to demolish the station and make way for a 2,902-square-foot convenience store and a large canopy over an expanded set of gas pumps. The Planning Commission hearings on the subject saw then-commissioner Maureen Parton object to the possibility of junk food being sold at the store and dozens of residents showing up to oppose it for that reason and because of its impact on traffic in the area.

The commission rejected the proposal in June 2008 and the City Council reversed that decision on an appeal three months later.

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