. . . But not in my Backyard

    Thursday, 29 July 2004 - The constant sound of the beeping from equipment in reverse and the banging of the shovels delivering their dirt to the dump trucks has become quite annoying. This is going

Ever heard one of these shovels shaking dirt into a dump truck . . . in your backyard?

on immediately behind our property line and for those of us who homeschool, it has become a distraction interferring with our childrens learning. You feel like you are in McDonald's with the french frie machine going off constantly. The only way to get away from it is to pack up the children and leave your home. So much for our constitutional rights and the proper education of our children.

   One lawyer put his finger right on the head today when it was suggested that the land should have been used for a park instead of a parking lot and his reply was that "parks don't make money". That's what it comes down to . . . money. So much for quality of life and preservation of our rights to freedom as guaranteed by our forefathers. What's going to happen to our neighborhood when Wal-Mart leaves to go further down the street eight years from now? There are now two shopping centers within a mile where the building Wal-Mart was in is vacant and has been for a long time.

This dust carried a long way into the residential area. Never did see the water truck operating today. - 2:55p

This fence at Wal-Mart is certainly not 8' tall as required in Ordinance no. 1384. It doesn't even make it to 6'.

The Buffer Zone    I'm a little leary of the type of buffer we will be getting between our land and the theatre. We were told we would have a ten-foot buffer of a fence and trees. The current plans (Acrobat) I was shown last week had deciduous trees in the buffer. What protection will the leafless trees offer in the late fall and winter? How did they come up with only ten feet as a sufficient buffer between cars and trucks in a commercial parking lot and small children playing in their backyard?

   Four years ago the city assured us of a 200 foot plus buffer from Wal-Mart and then came the sale of the land to Drinkard Development and all promises were off. The city also assured us of an "8 foot solid fence and a burm with adequate trees, etc. to shield the development from the nearby residential area" in Ordinance No. 1384 (see 25 Sep 2000 Meeting Minutes). We were told this ordinance was written regarding Wal-Mart. As you can see from the photo to the right, there is no "burm" and the fence is not 8 foot. If you travel to the south end of the parking lot along the fence, you can sit on the pavement and see our house. This does not constitute a privacy fence!

Notice the dead trees and broad space between trees that more correctly define a decorative plant than a visual shield.

   We need more than ten feet from the theatre property and new shopping center since most evergreen trees have a larger than ten-foot diameter spread at their base once they achieve their optimum height. Also, there is a power line running north and south feeding our homes and as I understand it, an easement needs to be clear for the power trucks to have access to the line and poles. Add the true width needed for "adequate trees, etc. to shield the development from the nearby residential area" to the easement and you begin to approach a more respectable distance for a working buffer. The trees need to be inspected periodically for damage and death. Unfortunately, the Wal-Mart buffer hasn't been well attended nor does it have the necessary "shield" as you can see from this photograph taken today. There are a great number of dead trees and it appears they have been dead for quite a while. Not a very good omen of good faith from our business neighbor.

   On the south side of Wal-Mart, they used tall skinny pines and a chain-linked fence which keeps out children but is not a very good shield from viewing the backside of a plain obstructive building. I hope we can correct this and attend to the proper use of an effective buffer for the Dialsdale neighbors. A chain linked fence and a skinny pine just doesn't constitute a buffer in my opinion.

Notice where the power poles are located respective of the drainage piping. Did they take into consideration the buffer zone with its' dense tree shield?

       As you can see from this photo, the easement plus the buffer will place the trees very close to the drainage pipes. Don't they know that the roots will grow into the areas where the pipes are joined? Don't they need to move the drainage pipes further west and not up against the property line? Guess we'll find out soon enough.

Added Stress    A doctor several weeks ago told my wife, when I took her to the emergency room, that she HAD to decrease the stress in her life. As stated earlier, since we homeschool our children and the school room is adjacent to the construction side of the house, she is forced to pack up the children and leave the house to maintain her sanity and get away from the 12-14 hour "McDonald" beeping, constant vibration, and slamming of dump truck gates.

   Work started around 7:00a and ended a little before 7:30p this evening.

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