POLAND Council moves ahead on new Walgreens

Building and demolition permits could be issued as soon as today.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- After much legal wrangling and delays, it appears a Walgreens store will come to the village.
Village council gave Dick Ames, village zoning inspector, permission Tuesday to grant a demolition and building permit to the owners of the property where a proposed Walgreens will be built.
Earlier this year, Walgreens submitted plans to village officials for a building at McKinley Way (U.S. Route 224) and North Main Street (state Route 170).
The area is occupied by a pet grooming store, a coin-operated laundry and a pizza parlor.
Council had earlier directed Ames not to issue the permits.
"It could not be my decision on a matter of this importance," Ames said. "I felt it was council's responsibility to make this decision."
Ames said the permits will be issued as early as today.
Councilman Bob Limmer said council was not initially comfortable granting the permits until any legal matters had been resolved.
He said council recently asked for a court injunction to stop the building of the Walgreens, but that was denied.
How they voted
Council members split in deciding to give permission to grant the permits. Bill Dunnavant, Joe Mazur and Christine Yash voted in favor. Limmer, Al Lind and Marc Cossette voted against. Mayor Ruth Wilkes broke the tie with a yes vote.
Gary Susko of Audubon Lane, one of the property owners, said he is not sure when the property will be cleared to begin construction. That will be up to Visconsi Companies, LTD of Pepper Pike, which is set to buy the property.
The potential Walgreens store has been a much-debated issue in the village and touched off several lawsuits. A lawsuit filed by Edward Conrad of McKinley Way against village council, the board of zoning appeals and the property owners is still pending.
Conrad contends the village should not have granted a variance to allow the Walgreens to operate with fewer parking spaces than normally required by village zoning.
Size was an issue
Another issue was the building's size.
The appeals board in May 2003 granted Walgreens a variance permitting the store to be built at just over 14,000 square feet. The area along Route 224 where the store may be built is zoned village center commercial with a 4,000-square-foot maximum for retail businesses.
Some residents attempted to have the size variance placed on the November 2003 ballot to allow residents to vote on the measure. The initiative, however, was ordered to be removed from the ballot by a Mahoning County magistrate.
jgoodwin@vindy.com