PC 082714 - Laserfiche WebLink

the WalMart Neighborhood Market and a Dollar Store was shoved in at the same time; then they lost a nice Italian restaurant, and now they are getting a 7- Eleven, which is a perception of taking down the neighborhood. She added that they have to think about their property values and that she spoke to a realtor who said that having a WalMart and a Dollar Store and a 7- Eleven is not so good. She indicated that while she has elevated her opinion of the project, she is not totally in favor of it and requested that the issues she brought up be addressed. Rob Putman stated that he lives in the neighborhood and that he would like to characterize the 30 signatures they gathered in the petition as a beginning of an audit rather than just a petition. He indicated that one of his concerns that caused him to spend four hours on a Saturday knocking on doors within a quarter mile radius of the proposed project was that he did not feel the neighborhood had an adequate understanding of the scope of the project and how the project was being presented to the community. He noted that they were not thinking through what the potential impacts to our community may be with the zoning change. He added that he was able to speak with the 30 people who signed the petition, who agreed that the property should and can be developed, but their main concern is that they do not want to change the look and feel of their neighborhood, and they like the fact that there is zoning in place that happens to govern development to some degree. He indicated that they spoke about all the details mentioned here tonight: noise abatement, crime, traffic impact, proximity of the school, alcohol right behind the school there, and even bottles in the park potentially. He noted that a lot of these problems would go away if they organize as a community and say that they have a chance here to just voice their opinion and what is characterized in the petition: keep the existing zoning and many of these issues will go away. He indicated that the numbers are growing and is actually up to 60 now, and there are other folks canvassing the community. Mr. Putnam stated that his opinion is that 7- Eleven is great and that they are doing an excellent job at rebranding and representing themselves as a corporation that wants to come into a community. He indicated that he has no real issue there; his main issue is the scope of the project, what it represents in terms of changing the look and feel on the corner of one of the two entrances to their community, with the other entrance having a McDonald's, a Shell, and many other things. He added that there is nothing of these amenities or distinct options in 7- Eleven that they cannot get in other business within a half mile of this location: there are two car washes within a half mile, and beer, liquor and wine are easily accessed within normal business hours. Mr. Putnam stated that it all comes down to the idea of the zoning change, considering what the real impact would be on their community. He added that they are not anti - development; he respects everything that Mr. Roesbery wants to do as he is a businessman and needs to operate his business in a way that allows his margins to make it successful. He reiterated that the concern is really about the character of their community, and they believe that the existing zoning represents that. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, August 27, 2014 Page 19 of 44