I was disappointed in the Warsaw Plan Commission's decision to deny Meijer's rezoning request.

Meijer, a chain of superstores, wanted to build on land northeast of the Parker Street intersection on U.S. 30.

To do so, they needed a portion of the land rezoned from residential to commercial.

The planners denied their request to rezone.

I think the planners based their decision mostly on the objections of neighbors in the area. It was a classic case of NIMBY - not in my back yard.

But I don't think the NIMBYs had the most compelling argument. I think Meijer did. And I don't think the plan commission acted in the best interests of the city of Warsaw. That, after all, is what they are supposed to do.

I think they acted in the best interests of the NIMBYs.

I know, I know. I heard it time and time again. "We're not against Meijer. We just don't want them at that location."

But the two concepts aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, they are inexorably intertwined.

Steve VanWagoner is a consumer affairs coordinator for Meijer. I talked to him Thursday.

He said Meijer "really likes Warsaw" and saw it as an attractive place to locate.

But he noted Meijer's situation in Warsaw is a little different.

"Usually we have other land options" in an area targeted for development, he said. "We don't have any there. We're going in Monday hoping for the best."

He's referring to Monday's Warsaw City Council vote on the Meijer rezoning request. There's virtually no chance the city council will buck the plan commission and vote in favor of Meijer.

And if they vote no?

VanWagoner said the chance of Meijer shopping around Warsaw for another site looks "kind of bleak."

The main concern of the NIMBY folks was traffic. The planners asked Meijer to address that concern.

So Meijer hired a consulting firm to do a traffic impact study and provide recommendations for remediation of any potential problems.

I have a copy of the study. It is exhaustive.

Those who argue that the traffic in that area would be horrendous if Meijer located there are just wrong.

And besides. That argument, intuitively, makes no sense.

Do people really think Meijer would build a store where access would be limited or restricted? Do people think they know more about it than Meijer? No way. Meijer wants traffic to flow freely and it would. They would make sure it would.

Meijer has 130 stores. VanWagoner says the Warsaw site is a "pretty typical" Meijer site.The traffic study recommends a widening and extension of Dubois Drive on the northeast side of U.S. 30. It recommends a widening of Parker street southwest of U.S. 30. It recommends a relocation and widening of Patterson Road.

It recommends installation of a new traffic signal.

It more than likely would require relocation of sanitary sewers, installation of a lift station and drainage work.

All of this stuff needs to be done whether Meijer comes here or not.

The Warsaw Traffic Commission has been looking at that intersection for years. It needs work. Parker Street between U.S. 30 and Patterson Road is too short and too narrow.

What Meijer has proposed is not unlike a solution discussed by our local traffic commission in the past.

Problem is, the city doesn't really have the bucks to pull it off. Local officials guess the cost of the Meijer traffic solution would be somewhere around $750,000.

Meijer has offered to foot the bill. All we have to do is say yes to them. Let them build a store here.

And we say no. It makes no sense.

Not all of that tract is zoned residential. A good part of it - 19 of 42 acres - is already zoned commercial.

Sooner or later, that land will be developed.

Traffic could increase, and if any work needs to be done, Warsaw taxpayers will pay.

Meijer would do more than fix a traffic problem. They would bring jobs and assessed valuation and property tax revenue to Warsaw.

They would draw shoppers from outlying areas. (There are Wal-Marts and Kmarts nearby, but the closest Meijers are in Elkhart or Fort Wayne.)

Attracting people to the area attracts dollars to the area.

A Meijer store also fosters retail competition. That's always a good thing for consumers.

Meijer is also highly community oriented. They get involved in churches, schools, hospitals and charities. Other communities will tell you Meijer is a committed good neighbor.

I really think the NIMBYs are squandering a pretty positive opportunity for this town.

I also would have liked plan commission president Joe Thallemer to abstain from voting on this issue.

Thallemer lives near the proposed development. Some of his neighbors were the most vocal opponents. He called an informational meeting. Why wasn't there an informational meeting for the LRC petition or any other rezoning petition for that matter?

I suppose Thallemer could argue that he was acting in the best interest of his constituents.

I would buy that argument if it was a city council issue. But on the plan commission, he should vote in the best interests of all Warsaw residents, not just those in his district.

I know Thallemer and the rest of the planners spent a lot of time studying the issue. They're good people and I know they are trying to act in the best interest of the city.

But this time I think they missed the mark.

I think they lent too much credence to the traffic and NIMBY arguments and underestimated the positive impact the development could have. I think they spent too much time looking for technical reasons to deny and too little time looking for ways to make it work.

If I were Meijer, I might just take my ball and bat and go home.

They ask for rezoning. We tell them we won't even consider their request without a traffic study. They spend tens of thousands of dollars on a traffic study. They propose a comprehensive, professional, viable plan - a major improvement in a decades old traffic problem. And they offer to pay for it.

We say thanks, but no thanks.

Meijer marketing people aren't stupid. They know their stores draw customers from wide geographic areas.

Plymouth and Columbia City don't have Meijer stores. And I bet Meijer would be welcomed with open arms in those places.

I hope Meijer takes it in stride and gives this town a second chance.

But if they turn and walk away, it wouldn't surprise me. Its tough to force yourself on people who act like they don't want you. [[In-content Ad]]