Wentzville, Missouri residents were deeply concerned about a truck stop proposed within 150 feet of their homes. They had launched an impressive Stop the Truck Stop campaign. Concerned that more may be needed to safeguard their neighbors, they engaged CEDS.
We urged them to form the Wentzville Healthy Neighborhoods Alliance which would make it easier to generate citywide support for an effort to require a minimum 500-foot public health safety zone from all new fuel dispensing facilities, including the proposed truck stop. To provide the scientific justification for the health safety zone, CEDS drafted the 43-page letter posted at the following address: https://app.box.com/s/o2mi6l7h4df630hu56bxch6pkf7dus5s
In the letter we also presented the results of our survey of all Missouri truck stops of the same chain as that proposed for Wentzville, which revealed:
The 19 existing Missouri truck stops average more than 2,000- and 4,000-feet, respectively, from the nearest home and neighborhood. The nearest is 540 feet from a home. Compared to these 19 existing Missouri facilities, the truck stop proposed for Wentzville would be alarmingly close; just 150 feet from a home and neighborhood.
The Alliance forwarded the CEDS letter to the Wentzville Mayor and Board of Aldermen along with a request that they:
About a month into our involvement the Wentzville mayor announced that the truck stop proposal had been withdrawn by the applicant. The Alliance is continuing to work with Wentzville officials on the health safety zone and rezoning of the 116-acre site from Highway Commercial to Neighborhood Commercial, which restricts the site to far more benign and beneficial retail uses.
For further detail on how CEDS can help visit the Truck Stops & Neighborhood Quality of Life webpage or contact us at 410-654-3021 or help@ceds.org.