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Township, Wal-Mart say no development is in the works for site
By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Oct 30, 2008
Residents of Fairway Park Properties, an apartment complex in Copley Township, have sued the township to block possible construction of a Walmart Supercenter on Rothrock Road.
Township officials deny there is a development proposal for the site on the table.
And Jason Wetzel, a Wal-Mart Inc. spokesman, said there are no specific plans to build in Copley Township.
The suit, which was filed in Summit County Common Pleas Court, says that the site, adjacent to the apartment complex on the west side of Rothrock, is not zoned for a building the size of a supercenter. The average Walmart Supercenter is 143,000 square feet.
According to the suit, the largest retailer in a C-3 commercial district in Copley is the 45,000-square-foot Best Buy store, a little farther down Rothrock.
The suit refers to an Oct. 30, 2006, letter sent to the township's legal counsel from LRC Development Co., inquiring about development of two stores on the 28-acre site. One building would be about 156,000 square feet and the other, 127,000
square feet.
The letter asked about road improvements and signs.
Another letter, dated Jan. 22, 2008, was sent to trustees from a representative of Levey & Co. It stated that LRC Development Co. had applied for site plan approval for the development of a Walmart Supercenter and asked for a meeting to discuss possible tax-increment financing.
''The increased traffic is a concern for our residents, with children getting off the school bus in front of the complex,'' said Nancy Merrill, regional property manager of the Fairway Park Properties. ''People like this location because it is close to everything, but not in the heart of congestion. It has a rural setting.''
There are 308 apartments in the Fairway Park apartment complex, which opened in 2000.
Merrill said supercenters are usually in areas with four-lane highways. Rothrock is a two-lane street.
Copley's legal counsel, IrvSugarman, said developers of potential businesses have been talking to township officials, but no application has ever been filed to develop the vacant land in question.
''There have been several inquiries, which may or may not work, but filing this lawsuit is extremely premature,'' Sugarman said. ''They are asking the court to issue an opinion on a purely speculative project.''
Scott Ruport, attorney for the apartment complex residents, said they are asking the court to determine the maximum size of any retail operation on the site.
''It doesn't matter what goes in there or when,'' Ruport said. ''I just want the court to declare that no building larger than 45,000 square feet will be developed there.''
The case has been assigned to Judge Brenda Burnham Unruh.
''We are not going to act on rumors,'' Sugarman said. ''When an application [to develop] is filed, then we will review it.''
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.
Residents of Fairway Park Properties, an apartment complex in Copley Township, have sued the township to block possible construction of a Walmart Supercenter on Rothrock Road.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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somewhere near you, US
Posted 06:09 PM, 10/30/2008
Oh no, the case goes in front of Unruh. Common sense will not rule the day with her. She is the judge who let the animal that attacked the guy in the pizza shop downtown out on early release.
If you love your criminals, vote for Unruh, she is soft on crime. If you want to see Akron improve, vote her out.
akron, oh
Posted 09:46 PM, 10/30/2008
And the Yuppies continue to think they run the world.... wonder what they'd say if it was a Hummer dealership with a Starbucks in it?
Posted 10:15 PM, 10/30/2008
Something Walmart this way comes.
WADSWORTH, OH
Posted 05:26 AM, 10/31/2008
another wallyworld with several within 3 to 7 miles away? ENOUGH ALREADY...BARFING PROFUSELY
Posted 08:39 AM, 10/31/2008
Just say no to wallyworld
Posted 10:21 AM, 10/31/2008
This is so typical for Akron, Copley, Summit County and Ohio! Let's do everything we can to make it impossible to have more jobs here. Let's make it as unfriendly to do business as humanly possible. Granted, it's only an increase in McJobs...but it's JOBS! You want to know why life sucks, Ohio? Do you want to know why you can't succeed? It's your attitudes. I for one, will be getting the heck out of the area as soon as the economy gets better. I want to move to a state where my family and I have a future. We're leaving and taking our college degrees with us. C-ya, suckers!
chesapeake, VA
Posted 04:42 AM, 11/04/2008
Merrill said supercenters are usually in areas with four-lane highways. Rothrock is a two-lane street.
Well, how much will it take to widen the road to make a short-cut to downtown Copley?
Then no one would have to sit in traffic in Montrose.LOL
