Stop Gas Station at Thomas and Bass Road

At its meeting on 19 April 2018 the Allen County Indiana Plan Commission adopted a DO PASS recommendation on rezoning petition REZ-2018-0016 request from Black Gold Ventures Indiana, LLC to change the zoning of the southwest corner of Bass and Thomas Roads from R1 Residential to C3 Commercial. Black Gold Ventures' intention is to build a gas station and convenience store.

Nearby residents are concerned that the construction of a commercial property of this type will have negative impact to the surrounding residential community in the areas of quality of life, safety, and the environment, In addition, the added convenience of such a property for residents is minimal as there are 19 similar commercial properties within a 5-mile radius of the proposed site.

Impact to quality of life: For those nearest the road, traffic along Bass and Thomas is already significant. The increased traffic and noise a retail establishment adds in addition to the light pollution will impact people's sleeping patters, in particular young children.

Safety: Not only does the increased traffic cause noise, it will also make the area less safe for pedestrians and playing children, particularly those who will be using the new path to Buckner park. There is also a concern about increased crime. According to the FBI, gas stations and convenience stores accounted for 9.1% of all robberies in the US in 2016. We don't need to bring in more crime to our community.

Environment: When such developments are built there is an environmental impact to the surrounding area. First, there is air pollution; not only from the extra traffic, but the evaporation of gasoline during the filling process which studies have shown can cause significant side effects to the body's nervous system. Runoff from the property will pollute our community's retention and leaching underground tanks will impact the quality of the area's ground water effecting residents and wildlife. The environmental impacts of a gas station will make it nearly impossible to convert that land for other uses in the future.

Let's keep our residential area safe for our families for years to come by signing this petition. Help spread this petition as quickly as possible. The Board of Commissioners until July 13th to make a decision, but could do so any day.