Sanibel has had one gas station since Ian, but damaged Chevron site may reopen

SANIBEL, Fla — Right now, there’s only one place to pump gas on Sanibel, the Rebel station.

That’s because the old Chevron station on Periwinkle Way was damaged by Hurricane Ian and has been sitting empty since. But that could change, as Lee County Commissioners say they want a gas station to reopen there.

If you’re not getting around the island by bike or golf cart, it’s probably by car. But with only one option to fill up, people say the current station gets backed up in the morning, that is, if they can even make it there.

“I’ve got 20 miles of gas left, and it’s backed up all the way to Doc Fords,” said Don Allen.

“My truck was empty, and I couldn’t find any other gas stations,” said Cleverson Lopez.

“This is the only one and I’m like ‘I hope this one isn’t out of business or I’m out of gas and I’ll never make it off the island,’” said Paul Kampisi.

Now, Kangaroo Express has applied to rebuild the former Chevron site. The engineering firm representing the company says it wants to bring back the gas pumps and convenience store. The proposal would also add more parking and another driveway to the station.

People on the island say they’re thrilled. “We need services especially on that east end,” said Kirk Whalen. “One on one end and one on the other would make a lot of sense,” Don Allen added.

But neighbor Joe Porter says there’s a problem. “They want to add an entrance and exit almost even with my driveway,” Porter said.

Porter lives across the street from the site and says he’s concerned about increased traffic directly outside his home, as well as the possibility of his water lines and utilities being damaged. He says he supports reopening the gas station, but wants the entrance to remain as it was before.

“The access was 70 feet from Periwinkle, and then you had a solid fence running from the building to here so you had no customer access beyond that point,” Porter said.

Porter asked the planning commission to remove the proposed extra driveway. Because of that request, the application will now move forward to a public hearing before any approval is granted.