LAKE PLACID -- A local company has scuttled a controversial plan to expand its propane operation in the village.

Hurley Brothers had wanted to build a 30,000-gallon propane tank on its property at the corner of Hurley Avenue and Station Street.

A similar plan in 2006 had also generated neighborhood opposition and was eventually withdrawn.

The family-owned fuel company already stores about 4,500 gallons of propane in trucks parked on the property. Co-owner Bill Hurley had argued that the expansion would not require a change of use and would therefore be exempt from local review.

The town code-enforcement officer disagreed and sent the project to local planners.

The company scored a partial victory in July when the Zoning Board of Appeals ruled the project exempt from the jurisdiction of the Joint Review Board.

But in a unanimous decision Monday, the Zoning Board ruled that the plan would need a variance to proceed.

The variance requirement effectively killed the project, Hurley said.

"In general, a use variance is almost impossible to obtain," he said, "because you have to prove that the property cannot be used for anything else. It's pretty much impossible to do."

Neighborhood interest was high. At the July Zoning Board meeting, about a dozen residents showed up to observe the proceedings.