WASHINGTON – Pretty soon, shoppers will be showing up at the new Costco in Wheaton. But what’s still uncertain is whether the wholesale store will ever sell gasoline.

Costco wants 16 gas pumps at its new Westfield Wheaton Mall location, but it won’t happen by the time the store opens April 10.

The Montgomery County Planning Board already voted against giving Costco a special exception. The board said that allowing the gas station would be counter to the area’s goals of encouraging transit-oriented development.

“We’re trying to go toward transit-oriented development, not away from it,” Planning Board Commissioner Casey Anderson said, in a news release.

Costco has applied for a special exception application, but hearings on the case have been postponed. The hearings are now set for April 26, May 1, May 6, May 14, May 17, May 20, May 23 and June 4.

The Board of Zoning Appeals will make the final determination

WTOP’s Andrew Mollenbeck contributed to this report. Follow @MollenbeckWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.