HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #071 Rai Peterson
Shestak, Joe
From:Peterson, Rai <rai@bsu.edu>
Sent:Friday, July 17, 2020 4:14 PM
To:Shestak, Joe
Subject:Opposing rezoning for gas station
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Completed
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Dear Mr. Shestak,
I write to oppose re-zoning to allow a 6 bay gas station along Towne Road near 131st St. in Carmel. Twelve
years ago, when we moved to the Village of West Clay, residents were asking for a gas station, and Brenwick
promised that one would soon be built on or near the proposed site. However, in those dozen years, a lot has
changed.
New gas stations have been constructed at The Bridges, and in other nearby commercial districts. Many
families have purchased lots and built their dream homes on sites that face the proposed gas station, and it
seems unfair to allow the noise and light pollution that a large gas station would bring to the front of their
houses.
Additionally, the town homes that have been constructed in the West Village would be negatively affected by
a large, well-lit gas station and convenience center in their midst.
Brenwick once promised to allow a modest gas station, and they told us that it would not contain a
convenience store because the demographic in West Carmel would not purchase the sort of goods that gas
stations sell. The proposed Family Express station is out of scale with the small businesses like Puccini's Pizza
and West Clay Liquors that have been developed in that area.
The CVS in the West Village has been a real friend to the residents of the Village of West Clay, expanding its
food offerings and meeting the needs of residents for about 15 years. Our residents are not eager to
patronize another convenience store in our midst, especially one in an over-sized gas-station parking lot,
where it would be hazardous for children to bicycle and pedestrians to cross.
Brenwick was unsuccessful in developing the small Central Business District in the center of the Village of West
Clay, which is now being built out by another developer. It has been slow to sell the lots in the West Clay
business district, too, and it is easy to see why they are eager to sell out to a large gas station for a profit, but
they would be selling out the original plan for the area that they promised to the City of Carmel and the
residents of the Village of West Clay.
I urge you to refuse to alter the plan to allow Family Express to build a large gas station on the proposed
site. This is not merely a case of "not in my back yard," but a matter of bait and switch. Brenwick promised a
quaint, retro gas station modeled upon the cottage wayside stations of the 1940s. Now they are attempting
to shoe-horn a mega-center into our midst.
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Please keep the character of the Village of West Clay intact by refusing to allow the proposed zoning changes.
Sincerely,
Rai Peterson
Village of West Clay Resident
Carmel, IN
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