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- - - - neighborhood. This is a neighborhood that we live in. It is a place that they just visit. They don't have a personal stake in our neighborhood. - "No doubt I am one of the most affected by the parking lot issue. I want to share with you some facts that were presented to me by the Kingdom Hall representatives. I also want to share with you my main reason for opposing this lot. Meetings are held in one form or another every day of the week. This can vary from 25 to 100 people. There are three congregations that number from 60 to 110. It is not uncommon for these meetings to begin at 6:30 in the afternoon and adjourn at 9:30 p.m. and ultimately it is 10:00 or after by the time the post service socializing is complete. On an otherwise quiet night, this can mean doors slamming, engines starting, children running right outside by bedroom window. I put up with this several nights a week. "The argument that a parking lot will eliminate this problem has many holes in it. First, the lot will fill very quickly, and the overflow will remain on Iris Street and the surrounding areas. Not to mention that currently cars park on the street first, and then go into the lot that is currently behind the Hall. The only real beneficiaries of the lot will be the people who are currently on the periphery of the parking overflow. A parking lot will result in 29 cars in a small area, starting their motors, slamming their doors, and piling out onto a street that can hardly handle the current residential traffic. It is a congestion headache in the making, and certainly not appropriate for our small neighborhood street. Keep in mind that this is not one day or night a week, but every day. - "I am sure you have read the other reasons for our objections, including the inconvenience during the construction and covering of the culvert; the potential for increased membership which the Kingdom Hall says will not happen, but I think we all know is likely; the 10 to 20% loss of property value as documented by a local real estate agent named Maxine Dumas during the City Council hearings in October, 1995; the fear that I will eventually be standing here once again asking you to prevent the house at 641 Iris from demolition and ultimately being replaced by a bigger Kingdom Hall; and finally the backlog of cars on Iris Street that makes access from Jefferson very difficult and dangerous. "No doubt you have heard or read about all of these reasons. Hopefully they make sense to you. For many of the neighbors on Iris Street our front yards and the street itself are already lost. Some of us moved into this situation and others have seen the problem grow over the years. There are several neighbors including myself who will lose the serenity of their back yards as well if this passes. I can only ask that you preserve for us our back yards. On Iris Street your back yard is really the only place you can hide from the disturbances that come living near the Kingdom Hall. - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 55 1UNE2,1997 MINUTES Page No. 371 PAGE 15