The Emporia Gazette

May 28, 2012

• Headlines
• Sports
• Forums
• Weather
• Classifieds

• Help
• Log in
• Home

• E-mail story
• Post a comment
• iPod friendly version

City commissioners again took up discussion regarding proposals that could bring Lowe’s to Emporia at their study session Wednesday morning.

The commission heard a presentation from Dave Olson of DJ Christie, Inc. to discuss the proposed Planned Unit Development at the northeast corner of 24th Avenue and Industrial Road. Olson addressed some of the public concerns brought up at the Sept. 23 meeting of the Emporia-Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission.

Some of those concerns included buffering of the property and traffic issues.

The PUD in question refers to 39 acres of that land. DJ Christie’s proposal is for the commercial development of 15.2 acres, excluding what will be dedicated for right-of-way along with a slope area along the perimeter, Olson said.

“One of the major concerns we heard from property owners was, ‘What’s this going to look like from my back door?’” Olson said.

He explained that the distance from the commercial property zone to the edge of the development will be 470 feet. To the north, the distance will be 326 feet. These distances don’t include another 100 feet of slope.

“So you’ve effectively got nearly 600 feet from our eastern boundary to the curb line of the commercial development,” Olson said.

Olson then demonstrated the sight line for a person standing at the corner of the Peak property looking toward Lowe’s front door. He explained that the 15- to 18-foot grade, along with the landscape screen, would limit the person’s ability to see the parking lot and most of the Lowe’s store.

To address traffic concerns, Olson said that, according to a traffic study, the intersection would not need a traffic signal, but that one is included in the plan anyway at a cost of about $250,000. He also indicated that the company would try to work with the Safe Routes to School program to deal with pedestrian traffic near the schools in that area.

The size of the Lowe’s store in the proposal is different from the standard store size of 95,000 square feet. According to the developers, Lowe’s plans to build a 77,000 square foot store that uses its enclosed space more efficiently. The store would include all of the merchandise the larger stores carry.

Dave Christie indicated that he had a letter of commitment from Lowe’s, as well as letters of interest from two restaurants and two junior box stores.

Commissioner Jeff Longbine asked whether Lowe’s would lease or own the land in question.

“Is this the type of thing where Lowe’s can pull the plug and leave town?” he asked.

“No. They’re committed,” Christie said.

Commissioner Kevin Nelson mentioned a recent Gazette article showing that DJ Christie, Inc. owed $38,000 in back taxes to the city of Hays for a similar development there. Christie explained that it was a clerical error, and that he was not aware of it until the article was published. As soon as he found out, he said, he sent a check overnight to cover what the company owed.

The commission also discussed how a Tax Increment Financing district works. A TIF district calls for an add-on of 1 percent to the sales tax for all businesses in the district. These revenues go to pay for the improvements over the life of the district, in this case 20 years, or until the improvements are paid off. Revenue projections by DJ Christie estimate that to be about 13 years.

The commission will take action on the creation of the TIF district during its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 15 in the Little Theater at 111 E. Sixth Ave. The development company will present what the TIF is and how TIF works, and there will be a public hearing on the issue.