Neighbors complain about traffic, noise as petitioner seeks warehouse use near Hawthorne Village Parkway

A public hearing March 3 before the City of Wildwood Planning and Zoning Commission drew neighbors’ concerns about traffic, noise and possible outdoor storage for a proposed warehouse near the terminus of Hawthorne Village Parkway.

The petition, described in the department’s presentation as PZ2-25G2 (Property Holdings, care of Martnell Ewell) and a related matter PZ202-907 (Saint Onge Properties/Wildwood Auto Mart), would amend the property’s commercial zoning and allow a warehouse use with a parking area and “inclusive of outdoor storage of equipment and related materials.” No action was taken at the hearing; the department told the commission the items will be considered no earlier than the April 7, 2025 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

Why it matters: residents said the proposed use could add truck traffic and noise along State Route 109 and affect backyards that sit in a low “bowl” where sound echoes. The petitioner said the proposed operation is a small landscaping business seeking indoor storage for equipment and that only company trucks and trailers would be parked outside overnight.

Tom Hudson, who said he lives at 17153 Lafayette Trails Court and represents neighbors whose homes back up to Route 109, told the commission, “We don’t need more trucks and more traffic on 109 driving through the center of our neighborhood.” He asked the petitioner to specify what “outdoor storage of equipment and related materials” would mean, noting, “If they’re dropping big pallets of pipes or whatever, lumber, I-beams on that plot, we’ll be able to hear it in our backyard.”

The petitioner, Mark Newell, said his family is from Wildwood and that his business is a small landscaping company. “We’re just looking for a warehouse where we can put some equipment inside. We would get it in the morning and be gone for the day and then return it at the end of the day,” Newell said. He said the firm does not operate or store heavy machinery such as bulldozers and that most equipment, including mowers and hand tools, would be kept indoors. He said the business would have “approximately five or six trucks… those would be the only things that would be parked outside overnight.”

Commission members asked practical questions about screening and building design. Commissioner Humphrey asked whether a fence could be required to hide equipment; the department noted the site is in Town Center and would be subject to architectural-review requirements. Mayor Gaetano asked about hours; Newell said staff would typically load and leave about 7 a.m. and may return as late as 7–8 p.m. in summer. Council member Brost asked about adjacent business hours; department staff said online listings indicated the nearby Phillips 66 advertises 24-hour service, and staff agreed to follow up with accurate hours.

The department presented aerial photos, site photos and a site plan and said the petition package identifies the site at the southwest corner of State Route 109 and State Route 100. The department repeated that this was a public hearing only and no recommendation or action would be taken tonight; the department will include comments raised at the hearing in its formal recommendation to the commission for a future meeting.

The public hearing closed with no formal motion on the zoning changes; the commission will consider the matter again at or after the April 7, 2025 meeting, when staff will provide a formal recommendation and any proposed conditions.

Proponents and opponents may submit additional materials to the department before that meeting for inclusion in the public record.