Wednesday, June 1, 2005   Body shop sought at old church Rezoning needed for Preston site By Scheri Smith ssmith@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal

The site of the former Hillview Cumberland Presbyterian Church on Preston Highway could become an auto body shop if the owner can get the property rezoned.

The property, at 3331 Preston Highway, is owned by Gene Glaser, who has two other Glaser Collision Centers -- one a bit to the north on Preston and the other in Jeffersontown.

Glaser, who has owned the church property and rented it out for two years, said that if Metro Council grants the zoning change from office-residential to C-2 commercial, he will move his Preston Highway shop there.

"We've actually got a store right there a block down the street, but I'm tired of paying the high rent," he said. "I can't do anything with the building I'm in."

The proposed design will go before the land-use committee of the Metro Planning Commission at 1 p.m. June 9 in the Old Jail Building, 514 W. Liberty St.

Glaser wants to raze the two-story brick church building, which was erected more than 30 years ago, and construct a masonry shop with a single garage door. A privacy fence would keep wrecked cars out of sight, Glaser said.

The color of the building and landscaping details will be ironed out with neighbors, said Bill Bardenwerper, a land-use attorney representing Glaser.

Bardenwerper and the Glaser family presented the design plan last month at a meeting of the Preston Corridor Planning Group, a coalition of representatives of small cities, neighborhoods and businesses in the area.

The planning group has worked with the Metro Development Authority and other city officials since last year and has devised a plan to revitalize Preston Highway that includes addressing pedestrian issues, stimulating growth and cleaning up the area. The first phase of the project is between Hess and Phillips lanes.

The body shop would be in the heart of that territory.

The group wants to attract businesses such as sit-down restaurants. Although a body shop is not necessarily what the task force expected, it can be a successful part of the overall plan, said Drew Shryock, an assistant director of the Metro Development Authority.

"It fits into our focus of redeveloping the commercial corridor," Shryock said.

But some residents disagree. Rhonda Henning, a member of the planning group and the Belmar Neighborhood Association, lives on Larue Avenue close to Glaser's property. Henning said the planning group had commissioned a study asking people what they wanted in the area, and a body shop is not on the list.

"It's quite contrary to what we've all stated that we want, which is green spaces and things of that nature," she said. "I absolutely respect their (Glaser's) work ethic and admire their perseverance and diligence in their work. However, I'm totally against a collision center in the neighborhood."

Henning said some Belmar residents do not want a body shop so close to their homes because it is an industrial-type business. At the meeting some neighbors voiced concerns about noise and paint fumes.

Liz Martin, president of the Belmar Neighborhood Association and chairwoman of the planning group, said although Glaser has operated in the neighborhood for years, her organizations oppose the body shop proposal.

"The real fear is the changing of the zoning," Martin said.

She said the planning group wants to attract businesses such as coffee shops to encourage a neighborhood atmosphere.

Bardenwerper said that it will take a variety of businesses to revitalize the area.

"I think you've got to have investment if you're going to revitalize it," he said. "You can sit around waiting for a bunch of coffee shops, or you can hope to get some good, solid citizens in there."