Meijer Developer Seeks Extension on Zoning Decision

BOARDMAN, Ohio – The Cleveland developer working on behalf of Meijer Stores Ltd. has requested an extension from Boardman Township trustees before the board acts on the township zoning commission’s recommendation to deny a zone change for 4.3 acres of land where the grocery store chain wants to build a store.

Representatives of Carnegie Management and Development Corp., Cleveland, will appear before the Boardman Board of Trustees at its meeting Monday night to formally request that trustees delay their decision until the week of July 16, said Krista Beniston, township director of zoning and development.

On Monday, the township zoning commission recommended against rezoning the 4.3-acre portion of the 38.9-acre site at U.S. Route 224 and Lockwood Boulevard to commercial from single-family residential. Meijer, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is looking to build a $25 million store at the site.

Township officials and Carnegie this week confirmed that Carnegie was working on behalf of the retailer.

Carnegie’s vice president of real estate, Al Bogna, sent a letter requesting the extension but also has to appear before the board to formally make the request, Beniston said. The extension is to give the company time to “evaluate the impact of the commission’s ruling” and to prepare for the company’s next presentation to the board, according to the letter.

Carnegie representatives “heard all of the folks and their concerns, and they want to do the due diligence and try to address them,” said Jason Loree, township administrator.

Loree said he expects many of those who attended this week’s zoning meeting to attend the trustees’ meeting Monday night, when the commission will formally make its recommendation to the board.

“They want to make sure they can thoroughly answer their questions and make sure they’ve done all their homework on traffic and everything else with the site,” he added.

“It will be up to the board whether they want to grant the extension or not,” Beniston said. If trustees choose to grant the extension, the trustees won’t vote on the zoning commission’s recommendation.

Trustees also have the option of granting an extension for up to 90 days, which Loree said he believes Carnegie representatives will request Monday.

The township also plans to put a “frequently asked questions” section on its website and on Facebook to address misconceptions and misinformation surrounding the project based on calls the township received this week, Loree said.

“We’re putting a lot of the questions people had regarding traffic and the site,” he said. The section hopefully will “get people the right answers they need,” he added.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.