Letter: Towing Company Should Find Different Location
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For several years, our family waited and saved to be able to live in this traditional middle class residential family neighborhood a block away from Walls Elementary School in Kent. The quiet, tree lined streets, single family homes and safe, short walk to the elementary school has always attracted families with young children.
Senior citizens who raised their children decades ago continue to live here because of the quality of our neighborhood. It's such a quiet neighborhood, that Walls schoolchildren serve as crossing guards before and after school with no adult supervision.
Now this traditional family neighborhood is threatened by the proposal to change 40 years of residential zoning so that a towing, trucking, auto repair and storage company can relocate adjacent to single family homes. Exhaust fumes, noise, truck traffic and possible crime that would come with a 24 hour towing and storage facility now raise concerns about property values, and the health, safety and quiet of our cherished family neighborhood.
The towing proposal to move adjacent to single family homes in an area that has been zoned residential for 40 years will severely impact senior citizens and families with children alike. Baker's Towing would literally be in the backyard of single family, residential homes. Baker's Towing can and must find a different location that is already zoned for commercial use.
The Kent Board of Zoning Appeals will vote on whether to change the R-3 residential zoning to allow Baker's Towing to move to this property. Please reject Baker's Towing Co.'s application for a non-conforming usage change. Keep the historic R-3 residential zoning property located between Lake and Steele Streets.
Let's keep Kent residential neighborhoods safe and healthy for children and senior citizens!
David & Lauren Odell-Scott
Kent
Mary Reith
2:04 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Thanks to the Odell-Scotts for the cogent statement of the plight of people who live in the area close to the proposed relocation site. I can only hope that the Board of Zoning Appeals sides with those of us who live in the neighborhood.
Teresa K.
9:26 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
@genna: yes, ignorance leads to bad decisions. Like the decision to buy a property without checking with the city on what you can do with it as a business. Ignorance of other peoples property. Ignorance on operating a business and then having the city site you for operating without proper ok. Ignorance has handed a detour of sorts for the business of Bakers, but I understand the business has lost no money at all throughout this trying time. Which is comforting to me.
Ignorance, for me, would be believing in someones INTENTIONS.
William B Budner ESQ.
2:13 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
seriously. plight! you guys are blowing this way out of proportion. get over yourselves.
Alyssa
4:39 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wow, its sad to know that you all have nothing better to do with you time. Baker's impound lot is at another location no vechiles are stored at 638 Lake st. Only cars for repair come there.Far away from your homes. The dump trucks don't come to the location at 638 Lake st. They are parked in a location that Bakers is aloud to use. The tow trucks have been driving up and down the roads of Kent just like every other tow truck does, When a sign says no trucks it means no semi's! Not to mention if a car is broken down on harvey st and needs a tow you wanna tell that person they can have a tow cause its close to a school? really? Or how about the teacher who's car wont start? She can't get help either I take it. This is sad that there are so many more important things you could put all your energy into other than harrasing a man for nothing but hearsay! Have any of you even talked to Mr. Baker?? I would talk to the man before flipping out like you all are!
Alyssa
4:47 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
umm you already said that..
Kentite
4:19 am on Thursday, June 14, 2012
The dump trucks will no doubt be maintained at the new Lake street facility and brought on those premses. When Bakers was behind Davey Drill the dump trucks came up Oak to Franklin at 5 a.m. These are huge vehicles which shake the ground with their weight and engine noise. At the intersection the noise of the empty clanging metal dump bed gate and the brakes was deafening. The large tow trucks coming and going was also intrusive. These do not belong in or adjacent to any residential neighborhood.
Mars
7:53 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
I wholeheartedly agree!
Teresa K.
3:54 pm on Friday, June 15, 2012
@Geena: simply put: the area the auto repair place is operating out of now, is not zoned for his type of business. The city says so. Not just us. The city zoned it that way because of the residential homes.
As for the other complaints: Bakers went from towing, to doing brake jobs, then it became an auto repair site. It has considerably grown and grown and grown until it became an eyesore and a JUNKYARD. First there were a few cars, then a few more, then a 1/4 acre full of them, and then it spread it out to the next street over and into that parking lot. Then it grew two dump trucks somehow. The place was mismanaged.
The construction and demolition on Lake Street will come to an end. If the auto repair/ towing site stays, it will grow and grow and grow and eventually overflow.
I look forward to hearing from you, Monday, June 18, 7pm , at the meeting, Geena.