PERRYSBURG – Further discussions about Costco’s future centered around conditions that could be applied
to the project to protect interests of the city and residents near the proposed location at Ohio 25 and
Eckel Junction Road.
John Kevern, Tim McCarthy and Tom Mackin, members of city council’s Planning and Zoning Committee,
discussed the matter Thursday in advance of a full city council vote on a special-approval use for the
store, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The trio did not make a recommendation on whether council should
approve its portion of the project, but voted 3-0 to move it along for consideration by the full body on
Tuesday.
McCarthy and Mackin both had detailed questions about the current standing of several aspects of the
project, mostly involving traffic, that are yet unresolved.
After detailed talks on traffic counts and how they might change in the future, McCarthy suggested two
outlots on Costco’s plan should not be developed, even if it’s not for several years, and the company
should instead take ownership of the entire site.
Brody Walters, planning and zoning administrator, said Costco believes the eventual sale of the outlots
are critical to the economics of the site, particularly now that it plans to incur substantial costs in
rerouting a gas pipeline that runs beneath the property.
Discussion during the two-hour meeting also touched on the structure of westbound lanes of Eckel Junction
Road approaching a traffic signal at the Costco entrance there. That would-be intersection lies just
west of Callander Court, a nearby street which is used to access the residential area closest to
Costco’s desired location.
Homeowners there have said they worry about traffic congestion preventing them from exiting their
neighborhood, as well as truck noise and the general presence of the store affecting property values.

Costco’s original proposal shows one through-lane and a left-turn lane into the store for westbound
traffic on Eckel Junction. City Administrator Bridgette Kabat said the company is open to an alternative
that would include two through-lanes, allowing more room for vehicles to reduce the depth they would be
stacked at the traffic signal. However, Kabat said it cannot be said which would be the best option for
residents until more detailed construction plans were drawn, as another through-lane would require
removal of an undetermined amount of pavement from Callander Court’s frontage with Eckel Junction.
Mackin and McCarthy suggested that a condition could be applied to any city council approval that would
require the option most benefitting residents be installed in order for the project to go forward.
Kabat said traffic striping, or "goring," on the pavement in front of Callander Court, as well
as signage, would instruct drivers not to block the road, allowing residents to exit more easily.
Committee members suggested this could also be a condition of any approval that could come from city
council.