One resident came before the council to ask that the car lot be denied – Mary Griffith of Iowa Street. Griffith lives behind the lot that would have been used to sell cars. She cited loud noise, additional lighting, increased foot traffic, and runoff concerns. “I just feel it’s not the best location,” Griffith told the council, “I brought my babies home from the hospital there.”

Thomas, as the petitioner, made her points as well. Thomas argued that the property would be used almost as a billboard and that most transactions would take place over the internet – meaning less commercial-type activity taking place on the property. Thomas also argued that the car lot business would be less traffic-intenesive than the property’s previous use. “I did a little research, and the bargain box in town, which is really busy, gets two hundred customers daily and an average of 100 credit card transactions a day – so they are very busy.” Thomas added, “There’s a Hilton hotel going in at the corner [of 85 and 20], I don’t think this is going to have a huge impact on stop-and-go traffic compared to the hotel.”