A West Chester Township neighborhood has hired an attorney to prevent a shopping center, which would be anchored by a 133,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace, from being built near their homes.
Residents will take their fight to the West Chester Township Zoning Commission, which will discuss the development at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Township Hall, 9113 Cincinnati-Dayton Road.
Currently, a cornfield resides in the lot at the corner of Tylersville Road and Princeton-Glendale Road (State Route 747), which would be home to the proposed 35.5-acre shopping center called Crossings of Beckett.
The land is currently zoned for Community Mixed Use/Residential Transition. To build the shopping destination, Blue Ash-based developer Silverman and Company will have to get the zoning changed to Commercial Planned Unit Development.
Tom Eggert, who lives off Wethersfield Drive, a street located on the north side of Tylersville Road, said his neighbors are worried about noise, litter, traffic and safety issues.
Meanwhile, Timothy Burgoyne Sr., an executive with Silverman and Company, believes the lot should be re-zoned because he considers it to be a major intersection. He also believes a Kroger Marketplace would “enhance” the community.
“We want to build the best grocery store in West Chester and it is going to be hard to find one nicer than the one proposed here,” Burgoyne said.
West Chester is home to another Kroger, which is roughly 72,000 square feet and a little more than a mile south on Route 747 from the proposed Marketplace.
Armed with a 30-page presentation from attorney Timothy Mara, Eggert is confident that Zoning Commission will side with his neighbors.
“I cannot for the life of me see this thing being passed by zoning or the board of trustees,” Eggert said.
When the case is reviewed, the Zoning Commission could provide its recommendation to the West Chester Township Board of Trustees. Whatever is recommended, the final decision falls on the township’s three trustees.
The trustees will likely hold a public hearing in April and could make a final decision during that meeting, according to Barbara Wilson, public information officer for West Chester Township.
The developer’s plan for the shopping center is to build the Kroger Marketplace with fuel center and three additional outparcels in phase 1 by early 2014 and then build additional a retail space not to exceed 65,000 square feet in phase 2.
Ironically, prior to Monday’s meeting, the township’s Land Use Planning Committee and Zoning Commission will host a joint meeting 5:30-6:30 p.m. to accept public comment on proposed updates to the West Chester Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The plan was last updated in 2004.
IF YOU GO
What: West Chester Township Zoning Commission meeting
When: 6:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Township Hall, 9113 Cincinnati-Dayton Road
