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Parkersburg Planning Commission hears dealership plan

Approves alley abandonment request

By Evan Bevins 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- The new owner of the former Larry Simmons Honda Mazda Volkswagen dealership still plans to build two additional Parkersburg locations, but he'll be utilizing the existing site more than he expected.

"This is a more viable auto corridor than I initially anticipated," said Dick Nourse in reference to the 1710 14th St. location that recently became part of the Nourse family of dealerships. "We're going to continue with Mazda and Volkswagen in its present location."

Nourse spoke Friday after a meeting of the Parkersburg Municipal Planning Commission during which the panel gave initial approval to his request to abandon a 145-foot portion of an alleyway off 14th Street running between two parcels he owns. The measure now goes on to Parkersburg City Council.

Nourse said he's been operating at the Larry Simmons dealership since November and is impressed with the amount of traffic he gets. As a result, he purchased the former 7-Eleven property across the alley and is seeking the abandonment of the alley to create a contiguous lot.

Nourse said he still intends to move the Honda operation to a new facility to be built at a 2-acre location on Murdoch Avenue near the Traffic Circle. A parcel between Garfield and Ohio avenues next to Lee Myles Transmission was to be the new home of Mazda and Volkswagen sales.

But now, "we're going to open up a used truck operation, solely pickup trucks," he said Friday.

The commission approved Nourse's request 10-0, with President Charlie Matthews absent, on the condition that the city retain a utility right of way should the Parkersburg Utility Board need to expand its infrastructure and allow MonPower and Frontier Communications access for regular operations and maintenance on their utility poles in the alley.

The commission also voted 9-1 to reject an application from Shrewsbury Place resident Brenda Sturm to abandon a 15-by-110-foot portion of the unimproved alley behind her home.

Sturm applied for the change last fall because she wanted to fence in the portion that would revert to her as a yard for her dogs. She said she'd purchased the house with the understanding she could do so, but that was due to an apparent misunderstanding with a city code official.

Neighbor Dale Markley opposed the abandonment, saying the opening after the fence was built would be too narrow for his truck and trailer to negotiate. He said at previous meetings he would prefer for the entire alley to be closed, and some Planning Commission members suggested Sturm make that her request.

But City Planner Mike Rosso said that when officials began to research that course of action, the Parkersburg Utility Board pointed out "a sewer line that runs through almost the entire alleyway." It had not been brought up at previous meetings because it did not go under the portion originally proposed to be abandoned.

As a result, the application was not changed.

"It wouldn't be feasible to close the bottom portion of the alley," Rosso said.

Although the commission voted down her request, it will still go on for consideration by City Council.

In other business, the commission unanimously re-elected Matthews as president and Eric Gumm as vice president.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

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