The proposal called to build a 3,628-square-foot gas station and convenience store at the southeast corner of the Meijer parking lot, 1350 W. Lake Lansing Road.

The facility would have been open 24 hours, dispensed E-85 and biodiesel fuels and included environmentally friendly components such as a “green roof,” which would have deterred water runoff among its many other functions, said Todd Sneathen, East Lansing’s director of Public Works.

Meijer tried implementing similar projects in 1991 and 1994, but failed largely because of neighborhood opposition. Although this project was different in many ways for its environmental components, it yielded the same result.

“If we look at what has changed between the first one to now, the only thing that has changed is that the proposal has gone closer to the neighborhood rather than further away from the neighborhood,” Councilmember Diane Goddeeris said.

Although the project would have been environmentally friendly, concerns from residents about traffic, noise, pollution and light sealed its fate.

“It was exciting to see Meijer come forward with an environmentally friendly piece in terms of construction, it may actually be a state-of-the-art facility,” East Lansing resident Ralph Monsma said. “But the poorer piece is that it’s a neighborhood that doesn’t need a gas station right there, and it does have some negative effects.”

East Lansing resident Mike Vasievich was in favor of the project.

“It will create jobs both in construction and operation,” he said. “It will help provide important competition to keep gas prices down.”

While neighborhood opposition was the underlying reason the council opposed the project, members were also concerned that there wasn’t a third party study that evaluated whether there was a genuine need for another gas station.