York Fixes 'Visual Challenge on Route 17': Supervisors Hand the English Motors Junkyard a Permit to Move but Won't Allow Use of Both Sites Simultaneously.
Posted on: Thursday, 18 May 2006, 15:06 CDT
By Matt Sabo, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.
May 18--YORK -- English Motors Ltd. won a special-use permit from the York County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night to move its automotive junkyard off Route 17.
The supervisors approved the junkyard's request 3-2, with Sheila Noll, James Burgett and Thomas Shepperd voting their approval. Kenneth Bowman and Chairman Walter Zaremba voted against the proposal.
The special-use permit was granted over the objections of residents who live about a half-mile from the property. The 121/2 acres that will be home to the junkyard are on Wolf Trap Road north of the Goodwin Neck intersection.
The eventual departure of English Motors would help solve a lingering Route 17 aesthetic problem for the county. A November 2003 report of the Route 17 Revitalization Committee identifies the salvage yard and an adjoining auto junkyard as "the greatest visual challenge on Route 17."
Ralph English, owner of the junkyard that's been a fixture on Route 17 near Victory Boulevard for 30 years, said he expected that it would be two to three years before he moved his business.
The rural location might not bring as many customers to his business, but English said the Route 17 location that he was vacating would be developed into a good income-producing property for the county.
One of the conditions imposed by the supervisors is that English not operate his business at both locations simultaneously, said Tim Cross, principal planner for the York County Planning Department.
The supervisors also required that English obtain a bond to guarantee the removal of junk from the Route 17 site.
Supervisor Noll said approving the permit was a difficult decision. She said she understood the concerns of residents such as Dick Waterman, who lives near the future site of English Motors.
"It was in the best interest of the county," she said.
"I wish I was Solomon and could make everyone happy."
Waterman said he and others opposed to the special-use permit were disappointed with the supervisors' decision.
Now he's waiting to see how the junkyard will take shape.
"It's a cross your fingers and hope it works out OK," he said.
"We felt good that the board appeared fair and impartial."
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Source: Daily Press
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