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NEWS
Citizens fight planned storage facility
Huntington City Council members will consider rezoning the site of the former Ted’s Imperial Lanes building during their meeting at 7:30 this evening at City Hall.
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON -- Fairfield East residents are riled over a proposal to build a storage-unit facility in the 2100 block of 8th Avenue.
Huntington City Council members will consider rezoning the old Ted's Imperial Lanes property during their meeting at 7:30 this evening at City Hall.
The petitioner, Scott Hutchison, wants to tear down the vacant bowling alley and build 600 to 700 storage units on the property. The property is C-1 neighborhood commercial but must be rezoned to C-2 highway commercial.
The Huntington Planning Commission forwarded the proposal to City Council with a favorable recommendation earlier this month. The recommendation came despite two petitions containing 163 signatures of residents opposing the project, said Sandy Hand, who lives on 21st Street.
Residents don't want a storage-unit facility because of the traffic it would bring to the neighborhood, among other things, Hand said. Residents also are worried of what the rezoning classification would allow on the property in the future, she said.
Hutchison is seeking two zoning variances with the project. Structures in a highway commercial zone cannot be built closer than 15 feet to the property line, city Planner Don Kleppe said. Hutchison has requested a zero-foot allowance on all four property lines.
The maximum length for a storage-unit facility is 250 feet. Hutchison is asking for a variance because his facility would be 420 feet long.
The Board of Zoning Appeals has postponed a vote on the variances until City Council votes on the rezoning issue.
Council members Scott Caserta and Sandra Clements said during a work session Friday that they can't vote for the proposal because of strong opposition from residents.
"I've received one phone call after another from residents who are against this," Caserta said. "We're elected to represent the people. That's the bottom line for me."
Council Chairwoman Mary Neely didn't say whether she would vote for or against the proposal, but noted that the property has become an eyesore along one of the city's main arteries. A storage-unit facility would look cleaner, she said.
Council members, however, should base their decision on the rezoning issue, not on what would be built on the property, said Councilman Jim Insco. Insco also is chairman of the Planning Commission. He noted that 8th Avenue is one of the city's trucking routes and several businesses already are located in the area.
"I just think whatever we put there should be in the best interests of the community," Clements said.
Here is a look at other items on City Council's agenda:
STREAMBANK PROJECT: The council will consider a resolution authorizing the Huntington Sanitary Board to participate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the design and construction of a streambank protection project along the Ohio River near 7th Street West.
A 720-foot stretch of a 42-inch diameter sewer line is exposed, partly because of erosion. Failure to protect the line could lead to serious health issues for downstream communities that get their drinking water from the river, according to Corps officials.
The Sanitary Board's cost share for the project is $195,000.
BUDGET REVISION: The council will vote on a revision that moves an $800,000 carryover from the 2007-2008 budget into this year's budget. Finance Director Bob Wilhelm initially projected an ending fund balance of $218,835 in the red for the 2007-2008 year, which ended June 30. Instead, the city finished with a positive balance of more than $800,000.
That means the city has to account for the $1 million positive swing in this year's budget, Wilhelm said. He is proposing to put $819,183 into the contingency fund. The Street Department would receive an additional $100,000 for purchasing salt, while the Legal Department would receive an additional $100,000 for contracted services.
Councilman Jim Insco proposed amendment to use part of the carryover to restore the city's contribution to the police and fire departments' supplemental insurance fund. During the preparation of this year's budget, the council agreed to skip this year's contribution due to financial constraints.
Wilhelm did not immediately know the total of the contribution Friday.
APPOINTMENTS: The council will vote on resolutions appointing Lottie Jane Simms to the Cabell County Public Library Board of Directors (third term), Barbara Calhoun to the Huntington Housing Authority (filling an unexpired term) and Timothy D. Carpenter to the Fire Civil Service Commission (second term).
