Letter to the Editor and the Voters of Mount Vernon,
I am writing this letter to oppose Ordinance 2024-21. It approves the rezoning of the property on Vernonview Drive from single family dwellings to Multi-family housing units. (Apartments) It would also allow commercial buildings such as a Dollar General.
If this Issue is approved it will greatly impact not only those of us in the neighboring community but those of you that travel to the East side of town. Coshocton Road is already at its capacity and will be made worse with this zoning change.
There will be more cars trying to access Coshocton Road from the north via Vernonview.
The cars trying to exit Kroger’s parking lot and the traffic from Beech Street will also be impacted. Add 250 more cars to the area and see what congestion is.
Enough is Enough!
The whole premise of needing more housing is built on a false pretense.
The idea is if we have more development in Mount Vernon the administration will have more revenue from selling water and from income taxes. Newsflash!! More houses and more people demand more services and that means more costs. It is like a dog chasing its tail.
At the conclusion of the Municipal Planning meeting the mayor said “We need more money. Either we get more people to pay taxes or you people will have to pay more.”
Enough is Enough.
Why not spend less instead of increasing revenue?
There have been over 1,300 housing units approved in the city in the last year and a half and others in the pipeline. The general consensus of the city leaders is that we need housing for people coming from the Columbus area.
If this is a real need why don’t we encourage the development in the area of town that is closest to Columbus?
It would make sense to develop on the south west corridor since we seem to think we need to develop and provide housing for people that aren’t here.
Since everyone thinks they will be commuting to Johnstown why not have them live on that side of town?
That would at least alleviate some of the congestion on the east side of town. Why don’t we build apartments there instead of solar panels? Why don’t we just leave things alone?
Oh, that’s right, we need more money.
One way to discourage development is by Voting NO to Ordinance 2024-21. By voting ‘No’ you help us preserve our neighborhood.
We need your help. Who knows? Your neighborhood may be next.
Jeff Doup
Mount Vernon