Q&A/Do-it-yourself pumps still outlawed in Milford

If you drive through Milford, Mass., do not expect to stop at a gas station, swipe a credit card, fill up the tank and head on your way. In that city, it is against the law for gas station owners to provide self-service pumps.

Station owners have been trying to change the prohibition for almost two decades, and, last year, they almost succeeded. On behalf of two station owners, lawyer Brian Murray proposed a new zoning bylaw that would allow self-service pumps and included strict safety precautions and guarantees of full service for elderly customers.

The proposed bylaw fell only 10 votes short of approval at a town meeting. The measure came up again at a town meeting in October, and Murray, who is on the Board of Selectmen this year, watched as it was firmly voted down … again.

Q: Do you know why the law exists?

A: I know that there were several well-connected families who had gasoline stations in the community for many years, and they did not want self-serve, so I imagine that played a role in it. However, in 1998 or so, the last family stopped doing business.

Q: Are there many other towns in the state with similar laws that prohibit self-service?

A: No. It’s by far the exception. When I did the research last year, there were about 15 communities within the state that did not allow self-serve. I think that’s now been reduced to 11 or 12. We’ve got a total of 351 cities and towns in the commonwealth.

Q: Why did the gas station owners want to change the law?

A: First of all: convenience to the motoring public. Gas station owners are getting lots of requests from their customers. Business people who have to get someplace quickly want to fill up their tank. Technology now is so improved in allowing self-service, it’s very easy for customers to do. Number two: they’ve had a great amount of difficulty in getting people to work for them to pump the gas. It’s very difficult to get good help.

Q: How has the town responded to the station owners’ requests for change?

A: Last year, we got a very large vote [at a town meeting] in favor of the [new] bylaw. It was something like 93 in favor, 66 against, and it still did not pass because we needed a two-thirds majority vote. Then it went back this year, and it was a total turn-around. I think it was 50 in favor, 70 against.

Q: What are the arguments against changing the law?

A: There’s a huge — what I called last year — “nostalgia factor.” Many individuals think, “Oh, my goodness. If we keep these full-service gas stations, it’s a real link to our past. We can pull into our gas stations and shoot the breeze with the attendant, and he’ll check my oil and wash my windshield.” None of which happens. You’re lucky if you can get somebody to pay attention to you when you do pull into one of the stations. But that’s a feeling out there — that this is our last hold on the good old days of the ’50s and the early ’60s.

Q: Do you expect this issue to come up again anytime soon?

A: I would imagine that, in the future, [station owners] would try to make another attempt at it, but I don’t know that for certain. I think it would be in the best interest of the town of Milford, but it’s very difficult to convey that to town meeting members, many of whom see this as a last link to the past.