REZONING TO ALLOW GAS STATION WILL THREATEN PETTIBONE CREEK by Huron River Watershed Council

 

On Tuesday night, February 16 at 7:30 pm, the Milford Village Council will hear a request for a zoning change to allow Kroger to build a gas station very close to Pettibone Creek.  The site is within Milford's Wellhead Protection Zone and would add a new environmental risk to Pettibone Creek and the Huron River possibly down to Kent Lake.

Please join Huron River Watershed Council staff at the Village Council meeting and urge the Village Council to deny the zoning change during the public comment period.

Visit the village website:
http://www.villageofmilford.org/1/village/council_agendas.asp?artID=25758 for more details about the meeting and agenda item.  The meeting will be at the Milford Civic Center.  Please advise friends and neighbors and encourage them to attend the Council meeting.

If you are able to provide comments, here are some points to consider:

* If the Village approves the zoning change, and ultimately the development plan, it is essentially trading a risk of water contamination, including drinking water well contamination, for a small gain of a few low-wage gas station jobs.

* Environmental regulations are not sufficient to protect village drinking water from gas spills and leaks.  Take a look at reports on the many times that these regulations have been violated.  Milford has four leaking tanks above the Mill Pond alone.  It only takes one spill or leak to cause an emergency that will cost village residents more than money.

* There are already a sufficient number of gas stations in the area.  Kroger can still move forward on other expansion plans without the gas station.

* If the zoning change is approved, the Council is trusting Kroger to be good environmental stewards, though they have no proven track record with gas station management in a wellhead protection zone.  Does Milford want to be Kroger's guinea pig?  Village councilors should do their due diligence and look into Kroger's history with gas stations rather than blindly trusting them to do the right thing.

* The Village should stick with the original vision for their community as specified in their current zoning plan.  Building gas stations near surface and drinking waters is not a good idea, and is not part of Milford's original vision.  Village councilors should not be bullied into a bad decision.

Thanks for your help.

Huron River Watershed Council

www.hrwc.org