County Commissioners, we urge you to please join hundreds of neighbors who live near the proposed project in saying "no" to rezoning Thrasher Pike and Middle Valley Road:
1. Please vote "NO" to rezoning the current “C-2 with conditions” corner lot because the current restrictions appropriately prevent a gas station and sale of alcohol across the street from a school and church in a residential-based community.
2. Please vote "NO" to rezoning to make way for a 24 hour/7 day a week beer, gas and grocery store with 168 space parking lot that statistics show will increase crime in our neighborhood while taking the place of two single-family residential homes and a farm.
3. Please vote "NO" to overloading the traffic on our two-lane roads, which are currently without adequate infrastructure and facing additional crisis when Ganns Middle Valley Elementary School doubles in size from about 500 to 980 students in August 2016. Please provide the appropriate infrastructure on Thrasher Pike and Middle Valley roads to support Ganns Elementary as a top safety priority and ensure improved infrastructure is placed before considering further commercial zoning changes.
4. Please vote “NO” to a net loss of jobs in the community. Walmart's well-documented endgame involves closing down other similar business nearby which in this case jeopardizes jobs at multiple nearby gas stations, dollar stores, grocery stores and pharmacies -- all just a few minutes drive from this proposed site. Research has shown the closer a business was to the new Walmart store, the more likely it was to close.
5. Please vote “NO” to the misinformation from the developers that we buy our gas, groceries and prescriptions “more than five miles away.” In fact we have two existing Walmarts, four grocery stores, two dollar stores, six gas stations and seven pharmacies about five miles (most less than five miles) from this site.
6. Please vote “NO” to potential conflict of interests. Choosing what is best for the developer and childhood friends who own the land presents a considerable ethical dilemma.
7. Please vote "NO" to the misinformation shared at community meetings that our county schools lost $10 million in annual tax revenue when the 45-year old tax agreement expired in 2011. The truth is not a dime of that $10 million ever went to our public schools.
8. Please vote “NO” to the “leak” narrative designed by the developers to confuse people into thinking there is money being lost in Middle Valley. Middle Valley is not a municipality; we are part of Hamilton County just like all the other county suburb communities that share the county sales tax revenue.
9. We welcome responsible development in Hixson. Please say “yes” to revitalizing commercial areas in already appropriately zoned locations nearby that need re-developed.
10. A “NO” vote to this rezone does not mean a “no” to Walmart; just “no” to this location. There is a glut of appropriately zoned property in the immediate vicinity available for development.
We will be wearing red shirts at the County Commission meetings to express our anger over a big box retailer threatening our residential-based community, our jobs and our overall quality of life. Thank you for the opportunity to hear our concerns and respect the wishes of the constituents most impacted by this vote by voting “NO” to the rezone.
Alicia and Doug Pell
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Whether you agree or disagree with the proposed Walmart Neighborhood Grocery in Middle Valley, these folks list several points worth consideration. Number 6 is not one of them.
Public records show that none of the four parcels involved in this proposed development are owned by a "childhood friend" and never have been. Back in the 1940's this was a 16 acre family subdivided farm. All but 2.23 acres had been sold to non-family owners over 20 years ago. The last parcel was sold in 2009 so the suggestion of a possible "conflict of interest" and "ethical dilemma" as reasons to vote no, is simply not valid.
I understand and support some of the concerns especially related to increased traffic including more delivery trucks.
I also understand the need to inject something new into aging areas in hopes it will enhance and not degrade.
I appreciate the passion of those that have joined the process. Agree or disagree, everyone impacted by this development has a right to voice their opinions.
Mike Kirk