Proposed impound yard draws the ire of south Wichita business owners - Wichita Business Journal:

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The proposal by the owners of woulds open the door for the company to relocate to the former site at1319 S. The company, which is looking to move from North 21st stores abandoned and wrecked vehicles for localllaw enforcement. The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission votee last week to allow the firm to operatew the business on But local business owners saythe company’w site on 21st is an eyesore. And they say the 24-hour-a-dahy storage operation — with 75 to 150 vehiclexs on site at atime — is all too similadr to a salvage “They’re going against all the businesses in the neighborhood,” says Dave Weathersojn Sr.
, president of , who is leading a group of landowners that plans to file a protesf petition, forcing the matter before the Wichita City Council. Tom accountant for Auto Inn, called the complaints “ludicrous.” He says the busines has no plans to use the site as asalvagwe operation. “It’s strictly impound. It’s been misconstrued,” he The owners of Auto Inn, Scot and Peggy Pyles, purchased the Wichitaz Structural Steel facilityin December. The 2.2-acr site has 17,650 square feet in three It is zoned forindustriaol use, but Auto Inn needs additional permitting because it would store inoperablse vehicles.
Auto Inn, Honton has contracts with the and the to tow and store impounded cars. Vehicles that aren’tr recovered are auctioned. Honton says the company is looking to move to a moresecurw area. He called 21st Street “trashy.” The company has sufferefd break-ins, he says. The Mosley site has buildings to storersome vehicles, along with security cameras and But nearby business owners argue the site is beinbg forced on them. They say it will attract crime and trafficd tothe area.
The local District Advisory Board votefd againstthe facility, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Departmenrt recommended against it — noting it woulc be out of character with the neighborhood, which is made up of officd and warehouse users. But the Metropolitan Area Plannint Commissionvoted 7-5 to approv e it. “If you can’t do something like this in anindustrial area, where can you?” says Commissioner Ron Wichita City Councilwoman Lavonts Williams, who represents the area, says she favors local businessesx so far in the dispute, sharing concernas about the debris and traffic that she says Auto Inn could draw in the area.
Auto Inn ownerz Scott and PeggyPyles didn’t return a call for comment. The companyu faces two state tax warrantsfor $30,000p in sales and withholding taxes, accordint to the . Honton says the company has paid offpriod liens, but he could offer no informationh about the 2008 warrants. He says Auto Inn has strugglex in the past with its electronicf taxfiling system.