The city of Kyle, Texas, is cracking down on long-time local tire business Rick’s Tires, citing the location’s growing piles of used tires as an eyesore.
According to the Hays Free-Press, owner Rick Gaitan claims the tires are still road-worthy. “They’re not junk tires. They’re good tires,” he said.
“You go to McLamore’s, you’ve got all these cars. You go to the wood shop, you see a lot of wood,” he told the newspaper. “This is a tire shop.”
City manager Lanny Lambert sees things a bit differently. “There’s huge piles of tires. It looks like, to the code enforcement officer, that the tires have increased,” he told city council last week. “You can’t even see the building now, he’s got so many tires.”
Lamert said the issue is about the city’s image. “Hawking piles of tires by the freeway exit has been good for Gaitan, but it might not be good for a town that wants to attract more developers and young professionals,” the newspaper stated.
“This is the entrance to our community,” Lambert told the council. “We have to be concerned with our front door.”
City council, though, wasn’t moved, siding with Gaitan as “a very important person in the city, and we don’t want to drive business away.” Council is giving him time to build a fence or move the tires.
Looking the proverbial gift horse in the mouth, Gaitan “doesn’t think he needs a fence, and he doesn’t know where he could move the tires. “These tires have been here for years,” he said. “They’ve probably been here longer than some of these new (council) members.”
