Double AA did not respond to a request for comment. An employee who answered the phone at the company\u2019s corporate number said they were unaware of any violations, and took a message on Wednesday. Mission Local did not receive a call back.<\/p>\n
Doubletime had \u201cauthorization\u201d from the city\u2019s fire and public health departments \u201cto remove the tanks\u201d and had proper shoring in place, wrote Patrick Hannan, the building inspection department\u2019s spokesperson. But there was no building permit, which is \u201crequired to install the new tanks,\u201d Hannan continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been communicating with the project engineer who indicated that they will obtain that permit once the old tanks are removed,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Former longtime building inspector Christopher Schroeder said, for his part, that digging without permits can constitute \u201ca life safety threat.\u201d In mid-December, a gas station at 16th and Guerrero streets shot a column of smoke into the air<\/a> after an explosion caused by an excavator rocked the area.<\/p>\n The excavation that prompted the violation was likely motivated by a 12-year-old change in state law. On Jan. 1, the deadline to close all single-walled underground storage tanks across California passed, a requirement created back in 2014 by Senate Bill 445. The law gave gas stations 12 years to comply.<\/p>\n Some have moved quickly to do so. Several gas stations across the city have been shuttered in recent months as they excavate their old gas tanks.<\/p>\n The Doubletime gas station on Mission Street is one of just six sites across the city with single-walled tanks left, according to data<\/a> maintained by the California State Water Resources Control Board. Those records indicate that its owners did apply with the state for tank closure. But they apparently did not obtain proper permits with the city.<\/p>\n The person behind the counter at Thrillhouse Records next door said that work at the site began around the new year, which is around the same time SB 445 went into effect. Two complaints pertaining to the site were filed with the city on Feb. 27. Both mentioned lack of permits and \u201cshaking\u201d or \u201cvibrations\u201d in the ground of neighboring buildings.<\/p>\n Single-walled tanks \u201care much more likely to leak into the surrounding soil\u201d and risk polluting their surrounding areas, according to the water control board<\/a>. Installment of new single-walled tanks was prohibited by the state in 1984, and all but 67 across the state have been closed.<\/p>\n Shawarma counter may not open at gas station after all<\/p>\n The excavation may have a collateral victim in the shawarma eatery set to open on-site. Its future is meanwhile in doubt.<\/p>\n![\"Abandoned](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_9414-853x640.jpeg\")
Doubletime gas station at 3400 Mission St. March 3. Photo by Nicholas David<\/p>\n