HOWLAND Township zoning officials want improvements made to Rt. 46

There is more property ripe for commercial development in the area.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HOWLAND -- The Ohio Department of Transportation's decision not to require a developer to make improvements to state Route 46 jeopardizes the township's plan for fighting gridlock, zoning inspector Gordon McLean says.
"We don't want to encounter the kinds of problems they have in Boardman," he said. "That is what we are trying to avoid."
Last week, the township zoning commission sent a letter protesting ODOT's decision that, despite the impact on traffic, the developer of a Sam's Club can build a driveway off state Route 46 without improving the road.
Past practice
In the past, major developers have chipped in hundreds of thousands of dollars for road improvements on Youngstown-Warren Road and state Route 46 in the same area.
Now it will be hard to justify asking other developers to contribute for road improvements -- especially for buildings that will likely have a smaller impact on traffic, officials say.
"We don't want to be discriminatory and pick on one developer over another," said township Administrator Darlene St. George.
There is still vacant land on state Route 46 that is ripe for development, she said.
Plans for the Sam's Club site, next to Lowe's, call for a gas station and apartments, as well as the big store. Howland officials estimate the complex could result in an additional 20,000 cars a day turning onto state Route 46. It is already one of the busiest roads in the county, with the most accidents.
Recent accident
Problems on the road came into focus last week when one person died in a seven-car pileup at state Routes 46 and 82.
"Before any new development is permitted, including the Sam's Club complex, highway infrastructure must be improved," the letter from the zoning commission to ODOT says.
However, there is little zoning officials can do aside from voice their objections. Although both sides of state Route 46 are in Howland, the Sam's Club complex itself will be primarily in Warren, where Howland zoning does not apply.