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At 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 12, the Austin City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider a request to rezone residential property at 1400 Fourth St. NW. The request is to rezone it to a combination B-2 Community Business District and R-O Multi-family residence-office district.

The plan, as we have been told, is to add a drive through coffee shop, two office buildings and a few duplexes/townhomes. The coffee shop and office buildings would have Fourth Street Northwest entrances/exits, while the townhomes would use a Third Street Northwest entrance/exit. The traffic on Fourth Street Northwest is heavy much of the time and makes entering/exiting our driveway difficult. This is also true for others living on Fourth Street Northwest and for many of the customers of Subway, Kwik Trip, Burger King and Hardees. There are also many “walkers” who are endangered as they try to cross Fourth Street Northwest to access the businesses on both sides of the street.

We strongly oppose rezoning this property and adding more businesses on Fourth Street Northwest. Why consider rezoning residential property when so many commercial sites are already available? We invite you to make your voice heard at this hearing, whether you live on Fourth Street Northwest or not. If you live in the area, walk, drive or do business on this street, you know what it is like.

Kelly and Chichi Mosher

Austin, MN