t-v shows and the like aside, there remains the broader issue of perception. This is a recent story of a facility being turned down in metro Kansas City,
www.kansascity.com | 02/26/2008 | Olathe Planning Commission turns down proposed self-storage facility.

Here are a couple of particularly salient items from it:

"Commissioners cited safety concerns with the area, and did not want the project to be one of the first things visible at an entrance to the city.

Tom Marsh, commission chairman, said he felt that a warehouse would extend an already undesirable entrance to the city with the gas pipeline facility immediately to the east of the property."

Clearly, these folks have not seen what recent Facility of the Year winners and contestants look like. No one ever says we don't want a Wal-Mart or a CVS to be among the first things visitors see coming in, but the perception regarding storage remains.

To be fair, some of the perception is based on past reality and politicos simply have not kept up or haven't cared to keep up with how the industry has redefined itself.