HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #057 Illene Smith
Shestak, Joe
From:Ilene Smith <schanksmith@aol.com>
Sent:Sunday, July 12, 2020 9:04 PM
To:Shestak, Joe
Subject:Gas station at 131st and Towne- Docket No. PZ-2020-00093-96 V
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Completed
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Hello,
I’m writing to express our profound opposition to the construction of a gas station/convenience store/car wash to be
built near West Main and Towne Road, Docket No. PZ-2020=00093-96 V.
I have lived in this area for nearly 20 years and around 2005, I remember some conversations surfaced regarding the
possible construction of a Kroger and gas station in the Northwest corner of West Main and Towne Road. That
development never materialized and the land was subsequently sold for residential development. We have all very
happily survived with many grocers, convenience stores, gas stations and car washes within a 5 mile radius.
Now, here we are years later and the conversation has surfaced once again. While every commercial developer would
certainly be interested in this area due to the density and concentration of residential homes, not every commercial
development is suitable and necessary. A gas station/convenience store/car wash is not needed nor wanted so close to
residential living. With an increase in traffic and late hours, this will have a negative impact on the neighbors nearby, the
neighborhood overall and the general area. In addition, convenience stores tend to stock alcohol, tobacco and vaping
products, none of which are needed or wanted. There are other retailers nearby which provide all of the same items
that will be offered by this Family Express, and the multiple bays for gas are more aligned with an interstate or
commercial area, NOT a residential neighborhood.
While I understand that the land is zoned for commercial development, a gas station/convenience store/car wash is NOT
the right development for this site. Please consider families, toddlers, kids, teens and our elder citizens. The serenity of
this area of Carmel will be disrupted by a gas station/convenience store/car wash. Do you want YOUR kids to find vaping
products here? Do you need to buy alcohol here when there is both a pharmacy selling alcohol as well as a spirits store
across the street? Do you need to buy gasoline when you’ve driven past 10 gas stations on the way home? Do you want
elder citizens exposed to the toxic fumes and refuse container yards from their home? How much do you want to
undermine the success of the retail establishments which are already open in the area, and struggling to survive?
Carmel leadership, it’s time to put your conscience before greed. If you’d like this development in YOUR backyard, then
build it there, not HERE. It doesn’t belong here. We don’t want it. And when the citizens boycott it, consider the eyesore
this vacant site will then create. - Ilene Smith and family
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