New Wildwood Business Drawing Opposition from Next Door Neighbor

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to clarify the ownership of the properties in question. 

Two property owners in Wildwood’s Pond Historic District are tussling over the impact of a possible new business on the area.

The property in question is located on Manchester Road and contains two parcels that were subdivided in 2004, the larger of which is occupied by the Big Chief Roadhouse restaurant.

The second, smaller piece contains a large concrete block building with an overhead door. Joe Vujnich, the city’s planning and parks director, said it previously housed Ponticello’s Marble and Granite, which conducted some activities, such as outdoor storage and manufacturing, that were not actually permitted under the property’s C-8 Planned Commercial zoning.

It has now been sold to a new owner, Jerry Stricker, who Vujnich said would like to use it for a contracting/construction business. Stricker is seeking to formalize those previous uses by way of receiving the city council’s approval for an amendment to the zoning ordinance.

Initially, the planning department opposed the proposal, but decided that having some outdoor storage in the area was preferable to not having an occupant.

To this end, Vujnich said they met with Stricker and worked out some modifications that would help “preserve the residential character of the neighborhood and not intrude on the restaurant.”

These changes including limiting its primary hours of operation to morning/early afternoon and mandating that the outdoor storage area be screened from view with a seven-foot high sight-proof fence. 

During a public hearing on the issue June 24, Vujnich said he had received an email from Ashton that “made it clear that it is not his intent to work" with the newcomer. 

“He is identifying some private restrictions from the time when the property was subdivided that would preclude some of the activities the new owner would like to take,” Vujnich said.

However, he noted that city does not enforce such private restrictions. Council member Tammy Shea said she worried moving forward on the amendment at this point is “a disaster waiting to happen.”

“We have tried this before and it does end well,” she said.

Vujnich said the planning department will work to arrange a meeting between the two parties and provide an update to the council at their next meeting.