Kroger's fuelish idea rejected

Kroger withdrew a plan Thursday to add a fueling station to its Sixth Street store after it became clear the Findlay City Planning Commission was going to reject it. The grocer wanted to build a five-pump station in an area now occupied by a parking lot and vacant grass lot east of the store. But city planners were concerned that the fueling station would add traffic hazards at a site that already is tight with traffic congestion. It's rare that a Findlay mayor speaks so forcefully against anything at a planning commission meeting. But Mayor Christina Muryn did just that after a representative from V3 Companies, speaking for Kroger, haughtily dismissed city administrators' recommendations that the board deny Kroger's request for the station. "To be perfectly honest, I was a little surprised," he said. "We are meeting the zoning code standards." At one point in his presentation, the representative read the zoning code to the commission: "Section 1161.155 of the planning zoning code states …" Minutes later, he finished. Muryn laughed. "My comments may come off harsh," Muryn said. "I grew up in that neighborhood, a couple streets away … that's the grocery store I grew up going to. It does not function effectively. "I agree that you are meeting all of the standards as outlined by the zoning code. What we have to consider is the overall impact to the neighborhood and the overall safety and function. "I am struggling with thinking that this is going to fit and not cause significant disruption and conflict points that can not only be an efficiency and frustrating experience, but a major safety hazard because of the volume of people you have walking through there," Muryn said. "You are going to have conflict points with pedestrians. That is not a very wise spot to have multiple vehicles trying to go through there, people unloading and loading." Muryn was not alone in her concerns. Commission member Dan DeArment cited the Speedway station across Sixth Street from Kroger. "Do we need another gas station right there?" DeArment said. "It seems to me that the existing Speedway meets the needs of the community." Commission member Dan Clinger said the proposed Kroger station would negatively affect neighboring homeowners. Several residents expressed concerns that a fuel station would add to the existing traffic hazards, noisy truck deliveries and lights the store already brings. "This whole area, it's a tough nut because of the traffic and the closeness of the approaches and the intersections," Clinger said. "It just gets bottled up a lot as it is right now. It seems to me we may be adding to that by creating another venue for people to drive in and out of." Several residents were adamantly opposed to Kroger's fuel station plans. That left planners with deciding whether to table the company's plan or outright deny it. Kroger's representative from V3 Companies asked the planning commission to table it. But that was problematic: Tabling the proposal could invite Kroger to come back with revisions, when nothing could fix a fundamental problem. "Ultimately, my primary concern at this point is that it is unsafe in my opinion," Muryn said. "I just don't feel that there is any version of this that I would be able to approve. "I think you have a great problem on your hands. You've outgrown your site, in my opinion." With the commission ready to vote to deny Kroger's request, the representative opted to withdraw it, a move that seemed only to make a cosmetic difference. Wilin: 419-427-8413