01/19/2007

Decision may halt Meijer plan

Judge upholds Acme Township's restrictions on proposed superstore along M-72

By Bill O'Brien

bobrien@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — A judge upheld Acme Township's restrictions on a proposed Meijer store along M-72, prompting company representatives to say they'll halt construction plans.

Meijer officials also said they'll appeal 13th Circuit Court Judge Philip Rodgers' decision in their lawsuit against the township.

Rodgers ruled Thursday that Acme Township's board has the legal authority to attach several conditions to a special land-use permit for a superstore at the intersection of M-72 and Lautner Road, a decision that disappointed Meijer representatives.

"This ruling today has really prohibited us from moving forward,” said Stacie Behler, Meijer vice president of corporate communications and public affairs. "It surprised me, quite frankly.”

Behler expressed frustration that Rodgers supported Acme's restrictions on the placement of a gas station/convenience store, among other concerns, and said the company will take its case to the state Court of Appeals.

The ruling pleased township officials, who hoped it would put an end to the lengthy legal dispute between Acme and the Grand Rapids-based retail giant.

"We certainly think it was a win for Acme,” township Supervisor Bill Kurtz said. "I think we approved a Meijer store in which the citizens of Acme wanted.”

The board in May approved a special land-use permit for the long-debated project that included several conditions to which Meijer objected. Those included limiting store hours to between 6 a.m. and midnight and requiring a brick facade on the building.

Meijer's plans call for building a 232,000-plus square-foot grocery and general merchandise store and a 2,400-square-foot gas and convenience store. There also are plans for another 110,000 square feet of future retail space at the site, collectively known as Lautner Commons.

In December, the board approved a revised special-use permit and dropped conditions for limited store hours and the brick facade. The board also eliminated a requirement for a subsurface storm water storage area in the parking lot.

Meijer continued to object to Acme's demand that it relocate the gas station/convenience store, as well as requirements for additional permits to develop outlots on the property and to build raised and demarcated walkways within the project.

Rodgers said he found the remaining conditions "lawful.”

"The township has not treated any other planned shopping center different from Meijer,” Rodgers said. "The (special-use permit) conditions should not prevent Meijer from successfully completing its development.”

But company officials said the location of the gas station/convenience store remains "a stumbling block” and that the company is adverse to making significant changes to its general store model.

"We don't know what to do at this point ... we don't know where to put the gas station,” said Scott Nowakowski, Meijer director of real estate.

Meijer's plans were unveiled in early 2005 and spent months of review in front of the township planning commission.

The proposal also survived a township moratorium on large-scale retail developments that Acme voters narrowly overturned in August 2005. Township planners recommended plan approval following the extended review, but the township board added several conditions last spring that prompted Meijer's lawsuit.