June 30, 2000
No happy landing for merchants
By Erik Burriss
Staff Writer
It's a field that looks like many in Seneca County right now. Just to the northwest of the intersection of US 224 and SR 53 the soybeans are starting to come up. The difference between this particular field of soybeans and all the others in the county is that the folks who own it would rather be seeing a crop of cars and construction.
Bill and Dan Reineke of Tiffin Ford-Lincoln-Mercury purchased this parcel &emdash; more than 40 acres bounded by US 224, SR 53 and CR 54 &emdash; more than a year and a half ago. The plan was to move the dealership there, and sell the remainder of the land to other businesses in lots ranging from 1.5 acres to 8 acres.
The proposed subdivision would be called Merchant's Landing and was based on the idea of "retail traffic driving retail traffic," Bill Reineke said.
The preliminary plat for the subdivision was approved by the Seneca Regional Planning Commission in April 1999. Governmental agencies that had to sign off on the project before the planning commission could grant final approval of the plat included the Federal Aviation Administration, because it was across the street from the Seneca County Airport, and the Ohio Department of Transportation, because the subdivision would require access to SR 53.
FAA approval came in December 1999, after the Reinekes agreed to install the lighting for their lot at ground level, rather than on poles.
ODOT approval was so hard to come by, Bill Reineke said, "at this point we're choosing another site."
The first hurdle was finding out just what ODOT would require in the way of infrastructure improvements. It wasn't until March 2000 that the Reinekes found out what they would have to do.
Regional planning director Paul Harrison called the wait "extremely excessive," since preliminary plat approval is only good for a year, after which the developer is usually required to start the process over again.
"ODOT did it's part," said Michael Stormer, the planning engineer for ODOT's District 2.
The Reinekes had hired Hank and Associates Inc. to do the required engineering work. In turn, Hank and Associates subcontracted the Toledo firm A & A Engineering Ltd. to conduct the study that would show how traffic patterns in the area would be changed and what improvements would be needed.
ODOT sent the study back to the engineers for revision three times in the more than seven months following the study's initial completion.
Stormer said the revisions were necessary because "work in the study was not correct."
Stormer said he met with the engineers on several occasions in his Bowling Green office to discuss what was wrong with the study.
Traffic impact studies for proposed developments are projections based on statistical studies of existing developments with similar characteristics said Subhi Bazlamit, who worked on the study for A & A.
If any one assumption made in the study is wrong, Stormer said, it can throw off the whole thing. When those corrections are made, other flaws in the study can become apparent.
"I have yet to receive a traffic impact study that was 100 percent correct," he said.
In December 1999 the impact study was finally accepted by ODOT.
Because the situation was beyond the Reinekes' control, the planning commission extended the plat approval period by a another year, and voted to change its bylaws to accommodate similar situations in the future. What killed the project was the cost of improving the surrounding roads. Based on the impact study, A & A submitted a list of improvements that needed to be made to ensure the road network could handle the expected increase in traffic.
ODOT in turn took those recommendations and in March forwarded them to the Mansfield-based firm Richland Engineering Ltd., which took over the engineering work for Hank and Associates around the turn of new year, and was supposed to design the improvements.
Although several minor improvements were eliminated because ODOT felt they did not provide any benefit, what remained would have been a substantial undertaking.
The improvements, all of which would have to be done before anything at the subdivision opened for business, included:
* East- and south-bound turn lanes and a traffic signal at the intersection of SR 53 and CR 54.
* West- and south-bound turn lanes at the intersection of US 224 and SR 53.
* A traffic signal and east- and west-bound turn lanes at the intersection of US 224 and CR 54.
* South- and east-bound turn lanes at the intersection of SR 53 and the access road leading into the subdivision, as well as and island to prevent left turns in to or out of the subdivision.
Herman Schwanner, the engineer who was to design the improvements, said the total cost for the improvements would be between $800,000 and $1 million.
ODOT policy is for the costs of improvements needed because of increased traffic flow are to be paid for by the developer.
"It's the exception when ODOT pays for it," Stormer said.
For example, the recent improvements to SR 53 north of Fremont were paid for by the developers, he said.
However, Rep. Rex Damschroder said the Reinekes' situation was similar to one the developers of Camden Falls found themselves in last year.
"I'm a little disappointed in ODOT," Damschroder said. "Safety is the number one concern, but can you give up economic development?"
The developers of Camden Falls were, at one point last year, told they would be responsible for two turn lanes and a traffic signal at the intersection of US 224 and SR 231.
Following a series of public meetings, as well as the intervention of Damschroder and State Sen. Larry Mumper, ODOT decided Camden Falls would only be responsible for the turn lanes.
The intersection needed a light even without the addition of traffic from the restaurant and reception hall, Stormer said.
However, he said, without development at the intersection of US 224 and SR 53, "there isn't enough traffic to warrant improvements."
Proposals by the Reinekes to do the construction in phases &emdash; spreading out the construction costs as the subdivision filled up &emdash; were rejected by ODOT.
Improvements need to be made all at once, Stormer said, because construction spread out over time also increases the length of time that traffic will be delayed.
Instead of turning to legislators, the Reinekes attempted to work through the state's executive branch.
The Ohio Department of Development's Dave Williamson, the governor's regional representative in Mansfield, met with the Reinekes and Seneca County officials anxious to get the project moving.
While there are grant programs to help businesses meet the costs of improving infrastructure, Williamson said they focus on industrial development not retail.
"If you look at the economy, our success has been based on manufacturing," he said.
Without manufacturing jobs in an area, Williamson said, there would be no one for retailers to sell to.
The intersection of US 224 and SR 53 "is going to be a real tough site to develop," he said. The infrastructure improvements ODOT requires are "not unreasonable, just expensive."
Dan Reineke said the $800,000-$1 million is too much to sink into a project that depends on future sales of property to make money. Additionally, to get their money back, the prices they would have to charge for lots may not be competitive with other developers that don't have to subsidize highway improvements.
So a field of dreams remains a field of beans.