'A bad fit': Fishers residents oppose proposed Meijer grocery store

Fishers residents challenged a proposal to build a Meijer grocery on the east side Monday, saying it would bring unmanageable extra traffic and noise to a fast-developing residential area.

Several homeowners at a city council meeting said the planned Meijer at North Cyntheanne Road and Southeastern Parkway was too big for the neighborhood and too close to Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate Junior High School.

“There is way too much traffic already around the school when it is letting out; it is unbearable,” Lynne Goodin, of Britton Falls subdivision, said during Monday's meeting. “If you let all this other traffic, it will be really difficult.”

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The Meijer would be 75,000-square-feet, about half the size of its superstores, and won't sell clothes or have an outdoor garden center. It will have a gas station close to the street, said Ross Beyer, real estate manager for Meijer, who described it as a “neighborhood market.”

Resident John Bush, of Whelchel Springs, contested that assessment, saying, “This is not a small neighborhood store, this is large.”

“There will be traffic from the gas station, light pollution and gas pollution,” he said.

Fall Creek Township Trustee Doug Allman said the store doesn’t fit the character of the neighborhood, which is predominantly subdivisions, Cyntheanne Park, the HSE schools and a single coffee shop, Schoolhouse 7 Cafe, which would be directly south of the supermarket.

“It’s a bad fit to bring a big box store into a residential and school area,” Allman said. “We would rather see small shops there.”

Allman said the store will draw customers from far outside the neighborhood, especially the Fortville area in Hancock County. “This Meijer will be a magnet,” he said.

Mayor Scott Fadness said as the project proceeds, the city’s traffic planners will work closely with Meijer.

“We know traffic will be a concern and we are working diligently to address those implications,” Fadness said at the council meeting.

Gerald Strohm, of Whelchel Springs, said the traffic is already so bad with the new development that ”we can’t even sleep at night as it is” and would only get worse with a late-night gas station and store.

“It is going to be impossible to get any sleep at all in my neighborhood,” Strohm said.

Not all residents opposed the project: In written comments submitted to the council, four people said they supported it.

“Most of the land that was set aside for commercial development has been instead, used for housing in this area” wrote Etta Lazaros, of Whelchel Springs. “This area needs amenities. The horrible traffic we have is from the endless housing developments. Now we need commercial development to provide for that housing.”

The closest grocery store is a Kroger at 116th and Olio Road, less than five miles away.

A developer meeting with residents is planned before the project goes to the Plan Commission for consideration and back to the City Council for public comments and a possible vote on July 15.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on X/Twitter and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Proposed Meijer store in Fishers draws opposition from residents