How the Wrong Kind of Commercial Development Can Destroy Granville - Lessons of 1998

Editorial

The future: a village rotting from the inside like so many midwest towns; a community sabotaged by developers building medium and big box stores outside of downtown sucking the money from downtown while creating suburban sprawl to replace the more rural atmosphere of the township.

This was the future feared by the majority of Granville voters when they overwhelmingly approved a commercial building moratorium in the late 1990s. Threats of cheap motels, fast food restaurants, and medium and big box retailers were on their minds. The voters knew that in addition to the lower quality of life that would result, they would be left with substantial infrastructure costs and little money for the school district. The community also knew that as the downtown deteriorated everyone would suffer financially as property values would fall throughout the township and village. Locally owned businesses which kept their money in Granville would be destroyed as national and regional chains would dominate local business through their ability to subsidize local losses with profits from communities they already dominated.

The commitment to avoiding this future of suburban sprawl can be seen in the 1998 Comprehensive Plan Update recommendations for township and village commercial development:

• New commercial development must address the community’s desire to reduce the tax burden on property owners. Priority should be given to the creation of a broad tax base that maximizes revenues to the local school system, the Township, and the Village, while minimizing the cost to them for infrastructure construction and maintenance.

• To maintain the small-town character of the Village and to preserve downtown as its commercial, social, and cultural hub, development must avoid the strip shopping centers, malls, and freestanding retailers that typify urban sprawl. The major purpose of commercial development shall be to provide space for businesses that primarily serve the needs of the local community rather than those of the regional and transient markets.

• Commercial development shall acknowledge and respect the character of the community. Commercial uses shall include pedestrian amenities such as generous sidewalks, attractive landscaping, street trees, appropriate lighting, and tasteful signage. Open space where the public can gather shall be provided, and it should be contiguous to other open space whenever possible. Buildings are to be oriented toward the street with all parking areas screened and limited to the rear and sides of buildings.

• Zoning regulations and ordinances and design standards must be created or updated to provide specific and easily understood guidelines for landowners, developers, and legislative and administrative officials during the application and development process.

Let’s hope our village council and township trustees remember the lessons of 1998 and keep these carefully considered goals set by Granville’s township and village residents firmly in mind.