Business & Tech

Mount Pleasant Planning Commission Directs Walmart to Provide an Independent Market Study

The retail company will not release their study, but Sentry has committed to sharing the cost and said Piggly Wiggly may as well.

Trustee Jerry Garski made a motion at the July 20 Planning Commission that basically directed Walmart to have a market study done by a third party since the company will not release the analysis they say they conducted. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Moreover, Greg Schilz, general manager of Sentry Foods on Washington Avenue, said he would contribute up to 25 percent of the cost for such a study and he felt like his colleague at Piggly Wiggly, also on Washington Avenue, would do the same.

He stepped forward, he said, because of how important it is to show the impact of businesses around the proposed location.

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"The economy has made some businesses vulnerable," he told Commission members. "When we bought the former Jewel store, we had a solid plan in place to make it a success. The recession has made us and some other businesses vulnerable. Moving even a smaller Walmart right across the street could hurt us further."

Walmart wants to build a Neighborhood Market measuring about 41,000 square feet where the Little Saints day care facility building stands. The Neighborhood Market is about one-fifth the size of the Supercenter on Durand Avenue.

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Further, Walmart's site plan request was held over for 60 days until village staff can get a number of questions answered, among them how to reconcile proposed parking compared to the village's requirement, the design of the storm water system and eliminating the future plan to develop the outlot.

"A number of concerns were raised during the zoning hearing," said Brennan Kane, deputy planning director. "Village staff and officials need the market study to be sure local businesses are not displaced."

Another small group of residents with a smattering of local business owners attended the 1 pm meeting and heard a more abbreviated presentation from Walmart's representatives.

But before addressing the site plan, Commission members debated the rezoning of 1.45 acres located at the northwest corner of the parcel. Currently still in an agricultural designation, Walmart was seeking a rezone into a general business definition.

Debbie Tomczyk, attorney for Walmart, pointed out that the rezone fit with the village's 2030 plan for Washington Avenue to be a commercial corridor.

Rezoning land is typically the first step when a business wants to move into Mount Pleasant, but Planning Director Ron Meyer said the Commission doesn't have to consider Walmart's plan when voting on that corner.

"You can vote on the rezone separate of Walmart's plan because it will make it consistent for commercial development no matter who or what is ultimately approved," he said.

"We understand the issues are separate," Tomczyk confirmed. "And we welcome more discussion and working together. Our partnership with Case, in helping them provide for their additional employees shows the willingness to be a good neighbor."

Commission members ultimately agreed and unanimously passed the rezone petition to move the 1.45 acres into a general business zoning defintion, a more consistent designation with the rest of the corridor along Washington Avenue.


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