LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (WMBB) —- On Tuesday, The Lynn Haven Planning Commission considered a development order for a Grease Pro oil change garage.
The proposed commercial property would be located at the corner of East Highway 390 and Harvard Boulevard.
Dozens of residents attended the meeting to express their opposition to the proposal.
They say Highway 390 is already an extremely congested roadway.
And they argue that an auto garage would make that intersection worse.
“There several times throughout the course of the day, you can’t get into our neighborhood,” a resident said.
One after another, residents addressed the planning board. They said the current infrastructure won’t support this kind of business.
“I think what every neighbor here is trying to tell you is it’s already not working the traffic is not working for us,” a resident said. “The drainage is not working for us. And that’s why we’re here.”
Board members answered residents by explaining that they don’t have the final say.
“We don’t tell the city commission what they can and can’t do,” Planning Board member Joseph Ashbrook said. “They’re the elected people so I think a lot of your comments are premature. I think they need to be directed to the people who can either say, this is OK, we’re not OK. That is not what our job is.”
In the end, the planning board rejected the project in a 4 – 3 vote.
“We’re still going to continue to fight this,” Bay County resident Zachary Detwiler said. “But I think for tonight, they looked at the facts and they made the right decision.”
Despite the planning commission’s vote, the proposal now goes to Lynn Haven City Commissioners.
They could still approve the project. They meet again on Tuesday, November 14th.
