07/27/1993 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Richard & Cyndi Buechler 4733 Porter Rd. North Olmsted, Ohio 44070 July 19, 1993 Mr. Bryan Gorris c% North Olmsted City Hall 5200 Dover Center Road North Olmsted, Ohio 44070 Dear Sir, We are writing in regards to the plans and proposal that Wal-Mart Corporation has submitted for their store to be located on the old Sherwin Williams site on the corner of Lorain and Dover Center Road. We are opposed to the idea any would like to point out- a few of the reasons why. Frankly, we are appalled that the Ciiy of North Olmsted can even consider this proposal. This area is so congested now (as Wal-Mart has pointed out) that the addition of 5,000 or more cars per day will severely endanger both commuters and especially pedestrian traffic. As you know, there are three schools within one-half mile of this area and many student cross Lorain to have lunch at McDonalds. Although it is illegal and unsafe to cross where there is no light, it is a fact that they do, Wal-Mart' s rebuttal to this point was 'It is not our responsibility if students cross Lorain to eat at McDonalds.' Please also consider what impact the Super-K in Westlake will do to ow traffic. I do not believe the traffic survey has been compieted yet, but common sense tells me that this will bring an enormous amount of traffic to both Porter and Dover Center. Porter is a very heavily travelled road, we sometimes have to wait 3-5 minutes to exit our driveway. There is also a problem with excessive speed on Porter. It was stated at the July 13th Planning Commission meeting that the city would have to invest between 2.5 and 5 million dollars to widen the roads to accommodaxe the increase in traffic. As taxpayers, we have to question whether this money could be put to better use, either in the school system or financial assistance to our elderly or needy citizens. Wal-Mart officials have stated the return to the city is an estimated $50,000 per year that Wal-Mart will generate in additional taxes for the city coffers. From a business standpoint, this payback schedule does not justify an expenditure ofthis magnitude. Any businessperson lrnows what happens to a business when there is uncontrolled growth. City government is no different than big business. You are managing a very big business! Page 1