BY ALLISON FASHEK, Times of Northwest Indiana
afashek@nwitimes.com
CROWN POINT | City officials are considering an ordinance that could make it difficult for Wal-Mart or any other big box store to call Crown Point home.
The proposal, an ordinance amending the city's zoning code, would limit a retail trade or retail business in a business district to 75,000 square feet. Plan Commission members briefly discussed the ordinance for the first time at the end of a special meeting Monday night, though it was not on the agenda. A public hearing will be held Nov. 14.
Mayor Dan Klein said Tuesday council members have been talking for a while about the ordinance, which aims to prevent big boxes from coming to the city. Part of the thought process, he said, is that without big boxes, the city could have more specialty stores. He added that he's already getting reaction to the proposal and that people are "fine with it."
"If they want big box stores, it's within seven to eight miles," he said. "It's not far. We're holding out for something better than a big box store."
If approved by the Plan Commission and the City Council, the ordinance could endanger Lauth Property Group's plans to build two anchor stores, one 203,000 square feet and another 88,400 square feet, at the intersection of Interstate 65 and U.S. 231. One of the stores could be a Wal-Mart, which several City Council members and Klein have come out against in recent weeks, calling it a bad corporate citizen.
Richard Anderson, an attorney representing Indianapolis-based Lauth, said Tuesday he found the ordinance surprising. During Monday's meeting, Lauth passed out booklets on the project estimating it would bring more than $43 million in construction contracts and potential first year taxes of $756,703. Currently, the property brings in $2,216 in taxes.
Lauth also has been trying to work with the city, dressing up its plans architecturally to meet design standards the city is still reviewing. But Anderson said he wasn't sure if this would cause Lauth to pull out of Crown Point.
"I don't think any determination has been made," he said.
Reaction among other city officials and members of the business community was somewhat mixed Tuesday.
Councilman Mike Conquest, R-at large, said the city is worried about big box stores and their impact on communities.
"The question is how can you control them?" he asked. "This perhaps could be another way to put some controls on this. It wouldn't preclude them or stop them, but it would force them to come before the (Board of Zoning Appeals)."
Developers proposing projects larger than 75,000 square feet could still go before the zoning board and request a variance from development standards, according to Building and Planning Director Curt Graves.
Plan Commission member John Marshall said he hadn't seen the proposal until Monday and was prepared to listen to both sides. But he has questions, he said.
"I don't know why we would want to do this," he said. "I'm trying to figure out what the purpose is."
Gayle Van Sessen, executive director of the Greater Crown Point Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks the city needs to be careful about the way it invites businesses to the community. The city put out the welcome mat when it put in infrastructure four or five years ago, she said.
"We're sending mixed messages," she said.
Copyright © 1996-2005 nwitimes.com.