Air views on plan for Canfield Wal-Mart

Township trustees have hired legal counsel.

CANFIELD — Township residents will have a chance to voice their concerns or support for a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter to be built in the township.

Wal-Mart is interested in building the store on 27.5 acres of property bounded by U.S. Route 224, the Ohio Turnpike and Raccoon Road.

It would build a 176,495- square-foot . supercenter, which includes a grocery store.

Residents can express their opinions at two public meetings. The meetings will be at 7 tonight and Wednesday at McMahon Hall on state Route 46.

Officials in the township and in Canfield city have already heard from many residents who do not want the giant store.

Wal-Mart has already made one attempt to get a zone change it needs for 14 of nearly 28 acres it wants to purchase. A zone change application has to go before the Mahoning County Planning Commission, the township zoning commission and the township trustees. Trustees have the final say.

When it seemed in October that the county commission was about to recommend denial of the change, Wal-Mart immediately pulled its application.

The company then went to the township zoning commission in November to size up whether that board would be agreeable to amending a county land use plan that cites residential as the best zoning for the 14 acres. Wal-Mart needs it rezoned to business. (The remainder of the 28 acres it wants to buy is already zoned business.)

About 100 residents listened to Wal-Mart’s November presentation. The township board had a lot of questions for company representatives but wouldn’t say whether it would favor such an amendment to the land use plan. The panel told Wal-Mart to start the process again with the county commission.