At a public hearing held on March 17 the Upton Board of Selectmen granted Getty Gas a Class II used car license allowing seven cars to be on the lot for sale at a time but not without reservation. Getty Gas is the BP Station located at 114 Main Street Upton.
During the hearing owner Bassam Younes explained his business needed the additional cars to sell. “Since BP took over we have been losing business because of the price fuel,” Younes said. Adding car sales would allow him to keep some of the workers, “we already laid of two-thirds,” he said.
“To be honest I have a concern with this request,” said member Jim Brochu, noting there are often more than the presently permitted four cars on the lot.
Younes acknowledged he did have five on the lot the weekend prior to the hearing and one buried under the snow in the back.
Brochu said, “I’ve seen as many as eight to ten cars for sale… I have strong concerns when you are given a license by the town and you choose to ignore or don’t abide by it.”
“We didn’t ignore that at all,” said Younes. “We own four dealerships, we do transfers. We don’t use our lot for car sales for more than what we have,” he said.
“The license says no more than four cars. This weekend there was 5,” said Brochu.
Younes said, “There were five but one didn’t belong to us. One we were working on for a customer which he had already purchased from Uxbridge.”
Member Picard noted the Upton police chief recommended no more than six to seven cars on the at one time for either sale or any other reason. “I have to go with what the Chief said,” said Picard.
“Some how we are going to have to regulate between what the ZBA said and what public safety says. We have a total number of cars, we have what’s for sale, and we have to figure out how to handle that. Until we can figure this out we should keep the license the same,” said Picard.
Committee chair Bob Fleming said, “It’s not a secret that there is different license for different locations. We are trying to come up with a cars per square footage formula.”
With regards to how many cars are appropriate for the lot size Fleming said, “I think nine is excessive, I would be comfortable with seven.”
Picard suggested granting temporary expansion with the caveat that the Town would come up with standardization. This would allow time to work the math and let other people who have a Class II license know the Town is reviewing the matter.
“I will support however this boards votes,” said Brochu. “It is my opinion that this location has not truly complied with the previous license….it just bothers me,” he said.
Picard asked Brochu if there was an action the owner could do take appease him?
“I would be happy with it as a probationary period,” said Brochu.
Brochu explained that if there is a car with writing on the windshield it would be assumed it was for sale by the location. If they are working on an already sold car the writing should be off the windshield.
Picard made the motion to grant a Class II used car dealer license to Upton Getty for a total of seven cars to be on the lot at one time with a probationary period which would be reviewed in July 2015.
The motion was approved.
UPTON DAILY 
I have to side with Jim on this. If you can’t abide by the rules of the current license, why should you get more cars added. The standardization that Mr. Picard mentioned is already in place. Every used car dealer has a registry log book. Every car on the lot needs to be entered into this book. Year,make,model,VI number and origin. If it is on your lot for sale, it needs to be in the book. All you need to do is spot check the log book. There should not be cars from other licenses for sale on that lot unless the title is signed over to that lot. Then it needs to be entered into the book.
If he shows that he can abide by the rules, then, maybe you can work with it. I would give him probation before the prize.
Was there a condition that BP remove the junk accumulation they have behind the building? What an eye soar when you come into town.
You know what concerns me more than that? Everyone parking in the Honey Farms lot and going to Rebecca’s.
Right, if you are not in a business at the plaza, you should not park your car there. It is also not a park and ride lot.