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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA003 - ERI, Inc Response to Staff Report dated June 8, 2011 To: Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment From: Brett and Joel Foikerts; ERI,Inc. Subject: Response to report issued by Ray Anderson, Department of Planning and Housing Date: 8 Jun 2011 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY We respectfully disagree with the Department of Planning and Housing's recommendation to deny this request. The department's report claims that ERI generates significantly higher traffic volumes of commercial courier vehicles.Our traffic survey finds that ERI is responsible for 1.1%of the neighborhood's traffic.Our courier drivers also report that they already make frequent stops within the neighborhood and were not present as a result of ERI. We respectfully request approval of this application. COMPANY • • ERI Inc.is owned and operated by Joel and Brett Folkerts.The company provides sales and service for medical peripherals,primarily Sony Medical and Mitsubishi Medical.Like other traditional dealership arrangements,ERI purchases its equipment from the manufacturer and then markets the products and services to customers through direct mail advertisements and online marketing.Customers place their order by calling or visiting the company's e-commerce website,eri-iowa.com. LOGISTICS ERI's primary courier is FedEx who makes deliveries in the mornings and pickups in the afternoon.FedEx consists of three divisions: FedEx Home Delivery,FedEx Ground,and FedEx Air.Assuming ERI has inbound shipments from all three divisions,there may be three deliveries in the morning followed by two pickups in the afternoon. Realistically,we will have a single morning delivery followed by two afternoon pickups. It is critical to note that FedEx vehicles are never at the residence for more than five minutes and never impede the flow of traffic. ._ 7 ERI typically receives its inventory via FedEx Air twice a week. It is important to ote that the weakened economy and Japan's recent tsunami have greatly altered our manufacturers'logistic cap bilities.As a result,Sony and Mitsubishi now ship the bulk of their inventory via FedEx and have greatly reduc d their reliance on larger freight companies. In the rare instance that ERI receives a shipment from a freight company such a Forward Air,the driver will either back into the residence's driveway or park along the road.The shipment normal y consists of a single pallet that is dollied into the residence's garage.These deliveries are normally completed wit iin 15 minutes and never impede the flow of traffic. 9 r:d3 ex f s Outbound orders are shipped with FedEx Air and FedEx Ground,depending on t ie customers'requirements. FedEx Air typically arrives at 3:30PM,receives less than two packages,and is gone witt in one minute. FedEx Ground typically arrives at 4:40PM,receives approximately 30 packages,and is gone within three minutes. REBUTAL TO DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND HOUSING REPORT ERI takes issue with a number of conclusions made by the Department of Planning and Housing's report: 1. Claim:ERI, Inc.is a thriving business that is experiencing a great deal of success,as evidenced by the commercial traffic generated in the vicinity of the home business location. • ERI Response:ERI'S success is not determined by the number of commercial vehicles in the home's vicinity. Rather,the company's success is dependent on selling products at a lower price and offering better service than our competition.Furthermore ERI is not the sole reason cause for the commercial traffic.All of our FedEx drivers report they are typically already present in the neighborhood making other deliveries and pickups. 2. Claim:The business generates significantly greater traffic volumes of co mercial courier vehicles than is customary and appropriate from a single-family residential neighborho d. • ERI Response:As stated above,our findings conclude that ERI i not the sole generator of neighborhood commercial traffic.Figure 1 illustrates the findin s of our traffic survey conducted on 8 Jun 2011.Starting at 7:30AM and concluding at S:OOPM, a counted 19 commercial vehicles,5 City of Ames vehicles,151 residential vehicles,and S delivery vehicles.Of the 180 vehicles,2 vehicles were present as a result of ERI:FedEx Ground afternoon pickup and FedEx Air afternoon pickup.Those two vehicles were present for a total of three minutes and did not impede traffic flow. Neighborbood Traffic 30 - A 25 20 c 15 V d 10 _V u t \Z 5 0 7 AM 8 AM 9 AM 10 AM 11 AM 12 PM 1 PM 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM -Commercial Vehicles 3 2 1 3 1 2 5 1 0 1 -City of Ames Vehicles 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 -Residential Vehicles 3 18 5 10 10 30 10 17 25 23 -Delivery Vehicles 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 Time of Day Figure 1-Neighborhood Traffic Study 3. Claim:The property owner across the street at 324 Hartford Drive reports significant noise from vehicles and the moving of pallets used in the delivery of products to the site. • ERI Response:The delivery vehicles are standard FedEx trucks that normally travel through residential neighborhoods without issue.We are not sure what the complainant is referring to with regard to the pallets.The pallets are transported on a mechanical pallet jack that does not create noise. 4. Claim:FedEx trucks are causing damage to the grassy area between the sidewalk and street cared for by the complainant. • ERI Response:We spoke with our FedEx drivers whom all denied driving onto Mr.Janus'grass. Furthermore,no damage was present on Mr.Janus'property. FORCEDIMPACT IF • RELOCATE Unfortunately,relocating ERI to commercial property is not feasible due to finan ial and operational limitations. Prior to relocating ERI to its current location,we searched for several months to Ind a suitable location.The primary limitation to Ames'commercial properties is the high cost and availabili y of high speed Internet at these locations. Furthermore,we warehouse a significant amount of inventory that ML st be secured and monitored against theft.If this application is denied by the Zoning Board,ERI will be forced to move its operations outside of city limits.