PERRYSBURG – Officials remain optimistic about bringing Costco to the city despite recent
delays to the approval process.A final site plan expected from Costco was not received by city officials,
and a public hearing for a special use permit set for Tuesday has been canceled.City Administrator Bridgette
Kabat said plans remain on track, but the company opted to delay with the matter of a gas line underneath
the planned location still to be resolved with the utility company."As far as we know, they are still
very interested," Kabat said of Costco. "I think they’re hopeful, (and) cautiously optimistic. It
sounds like they have every intention of moving forward with the project."A new date has not been set
for the public meeting on the special approval use.The city is required to advertise at least 30 days before
a public hearing, and Brody Walters, the city’s planning and zoning administrator, said it’s unlikely
anything happens until January or February.Walters said the main problem to be resolved is between the
developer and Columbia Gas Transmission, which owns an easement on the planned location in order to service
a 16-inch gas line beneath the property. The status of those negotiations is unknown, but discussions center
around placement of parking spots and landscape islands so the line can still be accessed, Walters said.A
complete plan was first expected by the end of last week to allow for final consideration by Planning
Commission at its December meeting. That deadline came and went, as did an extension set by Walters for 1
p.m. Wednesday.After a presentation before Planning Commission last month, the company received approval of
its preliminary site plan and garnered a recommendation that city council approve a special use permit, as
the 150,000 square-foot building exceeds the retail space limit of 60,000 square feet. Commission members
Greg Bade and Byron Choka voted against the approval, with Bade sharing citizens’ concerns about traffic at
the proposed location, Ohio 25 and Eckel Junction Road.Approval was given contingent on a handful of changes
to the plan, such as installing a northbound sidewalk to Eckel Junction, landscaping that would surround
pedestrian walkways, building design elements and the size and number of Costco signs that would
appear.Costco’s engineer, Ted Johnson of TJ Design Strategies, said at the November meeting that some
requests could threaten the project’s viability, but the company appeared to be making adjustments. Johnson
said he aimed for December approval to allow the project to move forward in early January.Walters said he
hasn’t seen a plan that addresses the northbound sidewalk. He noted that his conditions were
recommendations, and it will be up to city council how closely it wants Costco to follow them."If city
council holds them to the very strict letter of the law, they would need to do that," he said.Walters
said he expects most of city council’s debate on the retail space to center around traffic concerns.