The people at Pull-a-Part, a salvage yard chain attempting to open a location at the corner of Brooks Road and
Graves, like to call their business the “un-junkyard.” But a large group
of Whitehaven residents aren’t buying it.
Lifelong resident Lillian Gillis said the proposed business will
cater to thieves and “undesirables.” Former code-enforcement
inspector Gabriel Pryor thought the salvage yard would leave environmental
scars on the 27-acre site, and resident Peggy Baker said the site is too
close to the homes located on nearby Graves Road.
Whitehaven residents packed the auditorium at Graves
Elementary School last week for a town hall meeting that was touted as
Pull-a-Part’s last chance to make its case to residents. The issue will be
voted on by the City Council on September 7th.
When Pull-a-Part co-founder Mark Cohen finished delivering
a 10-minute speech on the benefits he believed his company could
offer the area, several outraged citizens stood up and voiced their
concerns. Some worried about the business bringing more rodents and
snakes into the community, and others said the company would cause
their property values to plummet. One woman demanded to know why
the company hadn’t chosen a site in Germantown or Collierville.
“It’s not like putting an ice cream stand in the neighborhood,”
said Pryor. “You’re talking about putting in something that has a
potential to be dangerous. The site is located on a floodplain, and it’s
aligned with Nonconnah [Creek]. If the water run-off happens to get into
the Nonconnah, there’s no telling where it might travel.”
Cohen contends that his company’s environmentally sensitive
business practices differ from other junkyards. He says all cars are
drained of oil, gas, Freon, and other fluids before they’re placed on the lot
to limit the risk of polluting the soil. He also said the cars are
arranged and organized by a computer numbering system to give the yard
a neat appearance. An eight-foot-high metal fence will shield the
salvage yard from the view of residents. The company, based in Atlanta,
currently has locations in Birmingham, Nashville, Atlanta, and
Charlotte, and Cohen said they’ve had no problems in those areas.
The site is currently zoned for light industrial, but it will have to
be rezoned to heavy industrial in order for the company to open.
Pull-a-Part is asking for a special-use permit to ensure the site cannot be
used for other industrial purposes should the business ever leave the
area. But several residents said changing the zoning could open doors
for not so environmentally sensitive businesses. During the meeting,
Pryor cited other businesses along Brooks that he believes are
unregulated environmental hazards.
“There was some real confusion on the part of the residents,”
said Cohen. “They were concerned that other people in other
industries have been bad corporate citizens and that’s got nothing to with us.
We handle no more hazardous waste than a gas station.”
The meeting was cut short after a number of residents spoke out
of turn during the question-and-answer period. Rather than
directing questions to Cohen, many residents were demanding to know
which way councilman Rickey Peete, who was facilitating the
meeting, would vote. He eventually told the crowd that he would vote
against the permit and asked the Pull-a-Part representatives to withdraw
their application. They refused and the matter will now be decided by
the council.
“I don’t know where this is headed, but if this [location is not
approved], we might not find another one,” said Cohen. “We
don’t have another one in mind at this point. We searched all over
Memphis, and it’s been difficult to find at least 25 acres in an
industrial area that has good access.”
E-mail: bphillips@memphisflyer.com
