“It means that they’re listening to the people in the community because there have been so many people expressing concerns with it,” said Grimes, who sported a “Vote No: Stop the Crossings of Beckett” pin on her blouse. “Clearly, our trustees that we elected are listening to what we have to say.”
The contentious zoning request was previously denied in 2013 by the township’s zoning commission, but then Blue Ash developer Silverman and Company reintroduced the plan earlier this year with an increased amount of buffer space along Tylersville Road.
Silverman and Company plans called for the first phase of the project to include a Kroger Marketplace, fuel center, an additional 15,000-square-feet of retail space alongside Kroger and three out lots along Ohio 747. Second phase plans called for three additional out lots, plus another 63,000 square feet of retail/office space.
The township’s zoning commission in January recommended the plan for approval, but said a buffer along Tylersville Road would need to be constructed during the first phase of development. Silverman representatives told the township the buffer could not be constructed until the second phase.
All three trustees said Tuesday they worried about the developer’s unwillingness to adjust the timeline for the buffer and to develop both phases at the same time.
“This makes me question the financial viability of developing Phase Two independent from Phase One,” Trustee Vice President Mark Welch said. “A best-case scenario was presented by the developer at the hearing whereby three years from the purchase of the property for Phase One, they’d exercise their option to purchase the property for Phase Two and start construction.
“A worse-case scenario may occur whereby neither Silverman nor any other developer would be interested or financially capable of completing Phase Two due to market conditions.”
Welch also said he wasn’t persuaded by the developer or its engineering consultant that proper and thorough analysis had been done that will guarantee no harm to the properties to the east and south of the development due to flooding.
Welch and Trustee Lee Wong said the preliminary development plan was not consistent with the township land use plan and would be detrimental to the surrounding residential uses to the north and east.
Trustee President George Lang said the plan was “generally consistent” with the land use plan and that the green space for the project was “well in excess” of regulations. However, he took issue with developer not agreeing to complete the buffer during the project’s first phase.
“I feel this condition is critical to meeting the spirit of the land use plan,” Lang said, adding that it was “essential to protect and preserve the existing residential uses to the north and the existing and planned residential uses to the east.”
Supporters of the plan said it would have provided a larger grocery store with more parking and a wider selection of products.
Opponents of the plan previously voiced concerns about traffic, noise and safety, as well as the timing of construction of the buffers and the financial viability of Beckett Commons shopping center at Ohio 747 and Smith Road if Kroger were to move.
Cincinnati attorney Tim Mara, who represented residents opposed to the development, said he was very pleased by the vote.
“I did not expect it to be unanimous,” Mara said. “I thought it was going to be 2-1, either way. Obviously the comments that the citizens offered at (last week’s public) hearing hit home.”
Welch said the land will get developed and that concerns over increased traffic and decreased safety and property values would remain.
“The only way that you can guarantee that this won’t be developed is you go and buy it and sit on it,” he said, adding that it was likely the developer would return to the township with a different plan for the shopping center.
“If they do, I think it’ll be a better project,” he said.
The best “win-win” situation for the township, Welch said, would be if Kroger opted to develop at its current site at Beckett Commons.
“Anything else means that that store is going to be probably vacant and it’s going to be hard to fill, and then you’d have second-tier retail coming in there,” he said.
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