For Rhinehart's neighbors, 'welcome to hell'

Editor:

I take no pleasure in realizing that my friends and neighbors are going to get a taste of what I have been enduring for more than three years when Rhinehart's becomes operational.

They failed to drive a stake through Rhinehart's heart (no pun intended) by not purchasing the land adjacent to the property the restaurant's owners bought and submitted to the Columbia County commissioners. Rhinehart's would not have been able to move the extra distance if this had been done.

The citizens of Springlakes acted more responsibly a few years ago when they opposed a zoning application for development adjacent to their entrance off Columbia. They banded together and bought the land; now a child care center is on that land.

While the residents of Glennwood and Idywilde may howl and gnash their teeth, the commissioners had no choice but to approve their zoning request. But all is not lost.

Now everyone can clearly see what happens when poorly drafted zoning laws exist. Currently, there is no mechanism for overruling a zoning proposal based on traffic, noise or neighborhood impact factors. Currently, there is no protocol for the Planning and Zoning Board or the commissioners to consider the impact of a business coming into a neighborhood by "piggybacking" on an already established - but defunct - business, as was the case of Ace Hardware on Belair Road with its C-2 zoning already in place.

All I can say, folks, is welcome to hell. Write and call your commissioners if you want the laws changed; otherwise, nuisance businesses with undesirable customers will show up on your doorstep. Rest assured your life will never be the same on Belair Road.

Floyd Brown

Evans