FAYETTEVILLE -- A car lot and wrecker service company can operate on property on U.S. 71 between Greenland and West Fork despite opposition from neighbors, the county planning board decided Thursday.
Washington County's Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustments approved 5-1 a permit for Mountain Cars at 6210 S. U.S. 71. The property is on .68 acres and directly across from Oxen Lane, which is the only road into a subdivision, county property records show.
At a glance
Mountain Cars at 6210 S. U.S. 71 was approved Thursday for a permit to operate a 24-hour wrecker and a car lot business between Greenland and West Fork. The proposal was approved over neighbor objections.
Source: Staff Reports
Neighbors sent letters to the Planning Department saying the car lot is noisy, the cars are possible pollution and safety hazards, and the lot is unkempt.
Several neighbors called or sent public comment forms to oppose the proposal. One neighbor supported it, planning records show.
Neighbor Rebecca Atwood spoke against the proposal Thursday. The car lot will lower property value, cause more traffic accidents and dissuade people from buying homes in the subdivision, she said.
"I think it will have a negative affect on our subdivision," Atwood said. "Our subdivision will go downhill fast."
The property has been the site for multiple businesses previously. Other commercial properties, including storage rooms, also are nearby, according to planning records.
The business had a temporary permit but ran out of extensions, Planner Nathan Crouch said. Patricia Hollingshead said she and her husband have worked to get a permanent permit for about a year.
The car lot is expected to hold up to 30 vehicles, Tracy Hollingshead said. Vehicles brought in from the 24-hour wrecker service will not be kept permanently on the property, he said.
The business is expected to have five to 10 customers a day, according to planning documents.
Patricia Hollingshead said there will be no noise, and the property will be kept clean. Conditions for the permit included no outdoor amplified music, keeping the property "neat and organized" and maintaining the landscaping, documents show.
Planner Nathan Crouch said the property will be inspected.
Among other things, the Hollingsheads also must move a 390-square-foot building they plan to use as office space, move vehicles away from the right of way along U.S. 71 and mark off the existing, working septic system, records show.
Vehicles will not be salvaged on the property, Tracy Hollingshead said.
Atwood said the property was zoned for residential and agricultural use and shouldn't have been rezoned for a car lot. The change likely means people won't buy property or will move out of the subdivision, she said.
Atwood said she's considering renting her home and moving elsewhere. She doesn't plan to appeal, she said.
"I can't fight the battle by myself," Atwood said.
NW News on 03/03/2017