Holland set to allow large retail store on McCord

4/6/2005

A zoning classification in Holland was made permanent last night by Village Council, making way for a large retail store on McCord Road property at North Mall Drive.

About 20 people attended the meeting, most of them to complain about a Wal-Mart they think is coming to the village, though Mayor Mike Yunker said there's nothing to indicate Wal-Mart will operate a store there.

"There has been a lot of discussion about what is going in there," he conceded, but he said the property is zoned for the development whatever it may be.

Cedarwood Development Inc. of Akron plans to construct a 147,000-square-foot building on the eastern portion of the 1 1/2 acres and two smaller buildings fronting McCord.

The property was annexed to Holland in 2003 and will retain a zoning classification similar to what it had when it was part of Springfield Township.

The mayor said zoning regulations of the village require that the zoning stay essentially the same.

Residents applauded after Todd Mallett of Holland said he was opposed to having "a big-box, low-paying retailer like Wal-Mart move into the village."

Other residents complained of increased traffic the store would bring to McCord.

The mayor said a traffic study indicated the development will increase vehicles on McCord by about 1,000 per day.

He also noted that in that area of McCord the Ohio Department of Transportation had recorded 33,600 vehicles a day in 1997 and that the number was reduced to about 27,600 in 2003.