City Denies Request for Carwash

TAMPA, Fla. -- Plans for a carwash at a Tampa, Fla. Citgo station evaporated this week when the Tampa City Council denied Richard Yarnell's request 4-2.

"Emotion drove the decision,'' said Yarnell, who is considering an appeal.

Neighbors opposed to the carwash cited concerns about increased traffic and noise. Realtor Henry Purcell showed the council photographs of a traffic accident at the intersection that sent cars into his office building. A carwash would make the traffic worse, he said, and 31 accidents occurred at the intersection between 1998 and 2000.

Neighbor Diane Hill said she is concerned more traffic would endanger the students at nearby Gorrie Elementary School. Yarnell said he hired a traffic engineer who determined the carwash would draw 60 cars a day, most of which would be at the station for gasoline.

Purcell said rezoning the land for a carwash would violate a prohibition against spot zoning in the 1976 plan for Hyde Park's development.

Charles Barrett, a local attorney, said a carwash could cause his property values to drop because of increased noise.

Source: The Tampa Tribune

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