In March, the Zoning Commission voted 9-0 to deny Rice Toyota's application to rezone several residential lots on Stratford Road for a large parking lot. Rice is now asking the City Council to rezone this property.

Small, pleasant, affordable neighborhoods like Garden Homes are rare in Greensboro. Successful rezoning would mean virtual destruction of buffer trees and habitat, with attendant environmental and neighborhood damage from increased runoff, lights, noise and dust. Even now, Rice Toyota is not a good neighbor. Trash from Rice Toyota inundates the buffer area between Rice and Garden Homes; neighbors constantly hear foul language from the Rice shop at the rear of its property; Garden Homes residents know Rice salespersons' names by heart from the blaring loudspeaker; foul run-off from the property may already be violating city, state and federal codes.

An enlargement of Rice's parking lot and destruction of the treed buffer zone would only increase its opportunities to be a bad neighbor to Garden Homes. Please join us before the City Council, April 3, 5:30 p.m., to protest this rezoning request. Let your voice be heard now, or your street will be the next to go.

Susan Hayes
Pleasant Garden