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A Massive Structure

We live diagonally across the street from the proposed U-Haul site and would be directly, and adversely, affected by the addition of a massive structure of glass and steel to the landscape, and, in particular, by the excessive lighting essential to the U-Haul plan.

The storage building—three stories at 50,000 square feet—and the parking areas would be lighted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The interior would be illuminated to reveal clearly to outside viewers the orange storage unit doors. U-Haul’s enormous building, parking lot, and fleet of trucks would be visible from hundreds of feet away; the surrounding neighborhoods would be blasted with a harsh light the entire night.

Zoning code regulations for an application for a special permit state that the design must avoid glare, that light sources should be minimized, and the that lighting design should focus on conserving energy and avoiding light pollution. U-Haul’s plan violates not only the letter but the spirit of this code.

UHaul’s building would dominate the landscape. It would be the most intrusive building in Guilford by day, and the most visible by night. This grossly unnatural light would greatly distress nearby residents and disturb wildlife whose awake cycles occur at night. Light pollution harms many creatures as well as people.

Our zoning code, which states that lighting shall “minimize sky glow and harmonize with the neighborhood and avoid glare on any other lot,” recognizes the social and ecological dangers of such a plan. Why has our Town Economic Development Coordinator Brian McGlone championed a plan that would do much damage to the surrounding neighborhood?

Judith and Harold Ramsey

Guilford