By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

AUBURN – The neighbors made one thing clear – they do not want a new Cumberland Farms at the corner of Fairview and Minot avenues.

The 44 people – Fairview school parents, potential neighbors of the combination gas station-convenience store, and city councilors – couldn’t find a good thing to say about the company’s plans for the site Thursday night in Auburn Hall.

They objected to the traffic the store would bring in, the danger to students having to cross in front of it on the way to the neighboring Fairview School, and the concept of having underground gasoline storage tanks within 500 feet of the school. They objected to having junk food available to students, not to mention tobacco products and alcohol. They worried about noise from a proposed car wash and wondered what kind of neighbor the store would be.

“There are five convenience stores and gas stations within a half-mile, and this will be the third car wash in the area,” said David Vachon of 10 Cleveland Ave. “What can you possibly add to this community that we don’t already have? What can you offer us to make all this worth the risk?”

Good business and convenience, replied Wendy Regan, site development manager for Cumberland Farms.

Now the plan goes to the Auburn Planning Board for a hearing Aug. 9. Regan said the company would go forward with that meeting.

“But we know there is a lot of sincere opposition,” Regan said. “All we can do is put it in the hands of the Planning Board and let the cards fall where they will.”

Cumberland Farms first approached the city in May with plans that would have put a 4,000-square-foot convenience store with eight gas pump stations and an automated car wash on the lot, as well as a drive-through Dunkin’ Donuts store.

State transportation officials said the doughnut shop wasn’t feasible, so the company removed it. The company also removed two gas pump stations from current plans. The latest draft includes a store, six pump stations with 12 hoses, a car wash and a vacuuming stand.

The current design has two exits, both onto Minot Avenue. Traffic engineers said the store would bring in about 2,500 customers a day and about 120 cars an hour during the afternoon peak.

“To hell with counting the cars,” said Paul Camire of 65 Marshall Ave. “Someone needs to sit there counting the kids.”

Neighbors said the combination of children and traffic would be deadly.

Patty Blanchard, of 192 Fairview Ave., said she had collected a petition signed by 255 neighbors, all opposed to the plan. She hopes to persuade the city to change the zoning on that four-acre parcel from general business to residential.

“That’s the only way to stop something like this from coming up again,” she said.