INC NEWS - Letter: Warehouse out of place (Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

Letter: Warehouse out of place
Herald-Sun, 24 Sept 2007 
(submitted version; posted with permission of the
author)

I am writing to express my neighborhood’s serious
opposition to the construction of the D&L appliance
store and warehouse being built at 608 Morreene Road -
right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. 
Many other Durham residents oppose this as well.
This should not be happening in Durham!  

The following are the major points of opposition:

1 - There is major fundamental unfairness about this
happening without the neighborhood’s knowledge.
Critical information was omitted by the City Planning
Department and possible false information given by
D&L. Residents were told about an appliance “store”,
with unused residential zoned property behind it. No
one, during any inquiries (months ago), was informed
of the 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse attached to the store.
The residential rear area is very small so the
warehouse will extend far behind and directly opposite
residential side street homes. In addition, D&L said
the structure would be built in sandstone to
complement the “look” of the neighborhood and that
extensive landscaping would be done to obscure the
building.  Neither is true. 

2 – The size and scale of the 13,000 square foot
planned structure (store + warehouse) is completely
inappropriate in a residential neighborhood. The truck
traffic, noise, exhaust fumes, and industrial look
will destroy the residential environment.  (There is a
driveway entrance for trucks on the residential side
street.) 

3 – Warehouses are not permitted in this “Commercial
Neighborhood (CN)” zoning.  The 10,000 sq.ft. and 20
ft. tall mammoth steel construction is clearly a
warehouse, complete with loading dock -facing homes.
(Planning staff are calling it a “storage area!”). 

4 - All of this is in violation of the intention of
Commercial Neighborhood (CN) zoning.  According to the
Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance, CN is intended
for “limited commercial uses to satisfy the needs of
the surrounding neighborhood”
, “complements the
nearby residential neighborhood” and NOT for
“large-scale commercial sales.” The proposed D&L
construction violates all of these. According to D&L,
the storage space is mainly for refurbished
appliances, sold in bulk to apartment complexes. 

Please support our opposition to this construction! 

Janet Mittman 
Resident