Nov. 18, 2008As others who have read this letter have already observed-- if Issaqueena Trail is a "nightmare," why make matters worse? If City Council already recognizes that Issaqueena Trail is now poorly designed, planned, or managed, why did they approve Patrick Square? Is this an admission of poor planning? And if the new shopping center is approved through another poor planning decision, making Issaqueena Trail truly a nightmare, does this mean that bad decision will be piled onto bad decision from here on out? Where will it end?
Ms. Gorsuch,
Yes, Clemson is a great place to live and will still be that way if Lowe's is built on Issaqueena Trail. I know you don't want to hear that but I will vote for Lowe's to come. I want to be honest with you and I don't do things for or against to solicit votes. It is just not in the makeup of my personality. Letting Wal Mart go got some on council attention. Whether they are willing to admit it or not, I don't think the same mistake will be made again. Council spent 88 thousand dollars of the tax payers money to bring in more economic development and Lowe's was on all of our list. We want Lowe's. Now I am just one vote but it will surprise me if this isn't passed.
Issaqueena Trail as it stands now, is a nightmare with or without the Lowe's. Patrick Square will have a definite impact whether Lowe's comes or not. Trucks will be in and out of there and considering where you live, it will be closer to you than Lowe's/ If Lowe's is passed, I don't know what other retail stores will come but there will be others.
Thank you for taking the time to write and I will always respond even when we disagree.
Margaret J Thompson
I think this tends to prove the notion that the proposed shopping center is the tipping point in Issaqueena Trail becoming a new north-south commercial strip.
2 comments:
At the city council hearing on Nov. 17 the developer tried to make that case that the Issaqueena site was the ONLY site that would work for them. Is this true?
Is there really no site along one of the roads proposed in the Comprehensive Plan (93, 123, 76) that is suitable for a large retail development? Perhaps the Issaqueena Trail site is simply their preferred site (because of proximity to the 123 interchange and the massive amount of construction that will take place at Patrick Square right across the way).
If Council says NO to the PD for the Lowes development, will Lowes give up trying to build in Clemson? Perhaps they already have an alternate site in mind as a backup plan. This would mean that saying NO to the Issaqueena site would result in the Lowes simply being built elsewhere in town -- something that many of us could support.
If there are no appropriate sites for large retail development along the routes specified in the Comprehensive Plan, then it seems that our City should not be trying to recruit business that have no suitable place to locate.
These are very good points and I agree completely. Unfortunately, City Council members are likely worried that the alternative will be to build the store outside of city limits. From what I understand, this is why Council-member Margaret Thompson still regrets losing Walmart to 18 Mile Road, which is only a short distance away from Issaqueena, but which is located in Pickens County. It is apparently not uncommon for big box developers to pit cities against counties in this way, and from what I have heard this is happening right now in Anderson with another retailer. All that being said, many are not convinced that Issaqueena is the only possible site within the city. Someone has recommended a site off 93, which is where such development should be located for various reasons. I will post that information for others to consider. In general, Hwy 93 is a mess from a planning point of view, with pockets of extremely low density and "under-development" for a highway. The City should get the planning right on Hwy 93 before making a new highway on Issaqueena.
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