How one woman put a Richmond storage facility on the shelf

A Richmond businessman shifted his plan to build storage units on a vacant parcel off state Highway 91 after a neighbor expressed her opposition at a city zoning committee meeting on Wednesday.

Curt Knight, who proposed the units, said he favored the site — at 230 W. 100 South — because it was next to Rocky Mountain Landscape Products, another small business in Richmond.

“It’s better to be by other businesses because they are our customers and we help each other out,” Knight said. “It’s more convenient if we are closer to them.”

But Maxine Bright, whose home is across the street from the proposed building site, voiced her concerns about having a storage facility so close.

“My worry is that all of the houses in the area will lose resale value,” Bright said. “I know I wouldn’t buy a house if the backyard was storage units.”

Knight tried to assure Bright that his storage units are some of the cleanest and best-kept units in the valley.

“Our units are immaculate,” Knight said. “We keep the grass green and mowed all year and never let them get rundown.”

Knight even said he would spend extra money to put up a 6-foot vinyl fence between his facility and Bright’s house, but she was suspicious of whether this would actually happen or not.

“The last place there promised an 8-foot fence and all we got was a chain link one,” Bright said. “It’s just hard for me to believe that we are going to get anything different than what was there before.”

Unable to sway his would-be neighbor, Knight said he’d go with a different location, to the west of town.

“I would have really liked to build the units here,” Knight said. “But I’ve learned over the years it is best not to make enemies before you even move in – I just want to keep everybody happy.”