My thoughts on Big Boxes.....

The question from a resident was:  "Gary, are you for or against the rumored Wal-mart interest in that area?"  That area being the corner of Refugee & Pickerington Roads.  I think this is a good question & worthy of a response to all interested in this subject:


First of all, if you're talking about the property on the Southeast corner of Refugee Rd and Pickerington Rd., it is a mute point because this property has already been annexed into the City of Pickerington. You will recall that the original plan was to annex the entire North PLSD complex in addition to the subject property, which was successfully resisted by cooperative effort of the Township, PLSD school board, PEA and citizens. Subsequently, an annexation agreement was reached between the Township and the City for this subject property including a bridge across the Rickett's property. This means that the City's commercial zoning regulations of C2 & C3 apply which permits high density housing, apartments, condos and big box stores, etc.

I was the only Trustee to vote against this agreement.

If you're referring to the property on the Northeast corner of Refugee Rd and Pickerington Rd, to specifically answer your question, I oppose any big box store at this location because of the woefully inadequate existing infrastructure, especially roads, the traffic controlled devices, the poor road alignment and the location adjacent to a large school complex. Do you really want to have additional significant traffic increases in an area that's already heavily travelled by younger drivers? I DO NOT!

I support responsible economic development in the Township where the related infrastructure improvements do not result in increased taxes for our citizens, such as, offices, assisted living facilities and etc. I have consistently asked for and sometimes obtained cost offsets from our developers for our schools even though the Ohio Revised Code does not permit this to be required. 

Thank you for your interest and inquiry, if there is any other information that you would like please contact me.

Please remember to vote on November 3rd and I will be honored if you vote for me.

Sincerely,
Gary Weltlich