In front of a packed house, Montgomery Village Board members voted down a plan for a car wash and gas station that drew the ire of many residents in the area where the facility would have been built.
Gas N Wash had asked for a special use to build its facility along Route 30 in a heavily residential area on the west side of the village.
On Monday night, residents in the area came to the Village Board meeting to voice their opposition to the plan.
One of the residents, who only gave his name as Lucas, said allowing the car wash would change the neighborhood.
“I am here to protect families. Traffic and noise is just a small sample of what our residents will face,” he said.
The man asked board members to vote against the project.
“Take our pleas into consideration,” he said. “The people who live here don’t want it.”
The project was slated for a lot near the Foxmoor, Fairfield Way and BlackBerry Crossings neighborhoods.
Russel Avery said studies have shown gas stations are not good for those who live nearby.
“I have three children, there are easily 20 children on the block,” he said. “… When gas stations go up it ruins the home values.”
The original proposal was for a mixed-use facility that would include a convenience store, gas pumps, a car wash and doughnut shop.
While the first project layout included apartments, Village President Matt Brolley said that part of the plan was dropped.
Lyman Tieman, attorney and architect for the project, and land planner Scott Pritchett displayed the new plans for the project at the meeting.
Pritchett said proposed new walls would act as sound buffers at the facility.
“I am also willing to add parkway trees along Adam Avenue,” he said.
At the meeting, residents said the proposed changes weren’t enough.
“We are opposed to the special use,” said Laura Thompson. “We must look at the whole picture. We have beautiful homes, parkways, trailways. People live out here because on a clear night you can see forever. We cannot sell our souls. The changes would affect this area for years to come.”
There were over 20 people who lined up in the back of the board room to speak on the issue.
Board members said they had listened to the neighbors’ concerns. Trustee Theresa Sperling said she had talked to some 40 neighbors and only two of that group were for the project.
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“We do need a gas station but I don’t think this is the one,” she said.
Trustee Denny Lee was in favor of the project and said the village needs more businesses.
Trustee Pete Heinz agreed that Montgomery needs to be business-friendly.
“The village works very hard to bring industry in here. We have tried hard. We aren’t going to get them if we keep turning them down,” he said.
When it came time to vote on the plan, it failed 4–2. Lee and Heinz were the only trustees to vote in favor of the project.
Judy Pochel is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.