Lt. Colonel Daniel Fletcher is currently on his second tour of duty in southeast Afghanistan, but the Ogden resident feels so strongly about a plan to build a self-service storage facility behind his home on Route 31 near Washington Street, that he spoke live via phone from Afghanistan to the Ogden Town Board during a public hearing held Wednesday, May 13.
Fletcher was audible via a speaker held to the microphone by his wife, Teresa.
He told the Board he has a lot on his mind right now as he serves his country, not the least of which is, “what will happen to my neighborhood, while I’m deployed?”
He said his family moved to Ogden to stay away from development, “I’m not comfortable with this,” Fletcher said, and questioned if his wife would feel safe with the potential of crime and traffic at the facility.
Fletcher called the rezoning of the parcel – which consists of approximately 12.5 acres situated between Route 531 and 31 – similar to, “the Trojan Horse of ancient myth. This is not proper use of this land. We have worked so hard to maintain our property and our way of life,” he said.
He also discussed drainage and septic issues in the neighborhood.
“Why should we pay $15,000 to $20,000 for a new septic system so a developer can put a little money in his pocket?” Fletcher asked.
The property must be re-zoned from residential to the town’s self-service storage overlay district for the project to move forward. Christopher Wilcox owns the property and is proposing the facility – Highway View Mini-Storage – which includes 16 storage buildings with approximately 30 units per building and two smaller buildings totaling approximately 35 units.
He told the board, “There’s a need for mini storage” in the town, noting residents who must store items like snowmobiles and campers in their driveways and the number of smaller homes, apartments, condos and townhouses with limited storage.
“Mini storage is the best neighbor you could have,” Wilcox said, and explained he plans to construct a berm, “inundated with pine trees,” to block the view of the facility from neighbors. “I don’t want them to have to look at any piece of my mini storage,” he explained.
Wilcox argued that property values would not go down as a result of the development and offered to protect homeowners against losses on any future sales of their homes up to $7,500.
“I’m confident their property will look better after I’m done … mini storage will only improve their value,” he said.
Members of the 31 West Neighborhood Association who spoke during the two hour public hearing did not agree.
Eighty-three year old Virginia Stockham, the last descendent of the original owners of the land, who still lives in the neighborhood, said she hopes the Town Board will make an informed and wise decision.
“In my lifetime I’ve seen changes that have irreversibly altered the historical rural character of the area,” Stockham noted, and asked the Ogden Town Board to reject the application. “Protect this neighborhood and keep it rural,” she said.
Other residents discussed concerns over safety and crime, inconsistencies with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, and drainage issues.
Neighbor Christopher Haag said the development would off-set homeowners’ property and re-sale value and warned about the prevalence of septic systems in the neighborhood that are now 50 years old and not functioning efficiently. The proposed development would, “open a Pandora’s Box of septic and drainage problems – many systems are barely working,” he said.
Duane Gaul, who also lives on Route 31, said he had a letter from a real-estate agent stating he could loose $35,000 in the value of his home. “$7,500 is nothing compared to what I stand to lose. This is a classic case of spot re-zoning,” Gaul said and added the town could potentially face a lawsuit if leaders eventually approve a zoning change.
One resident, who lives in Adams Basin, said he cannot afford to construct a barn on his property and would welcome self-storage at a nearby location. “I would use the facility,” he told the Town Board members.
Ogden Supervisor Gay Lenhard told those in attendance the board did not plan to vote on the re-zoning during the May 13 meeting. “We need an opportunity to review the minutes,” she said.
If the Town Board eventually approves, the application would go back to the Planning Board.
This is not the first time Wilcox has proposed building a self-service storage facility on the property. In 2011, a similar proposal was made, but was eventually withdrawn. In 2014, the Town Board passed a law creating the self-service storage overlay district.
