Predictable retail

To the editor:

“Remember Borders” (Feb. 21 editorial) asserts that planners shouldn’t fool themselves into thinking they can predict the future: “City leaders and planners are still asked to sit in judgment on new development projects. Arguments are still made at City Hall that some developments should be denied because they’ll run other businesses out of business. There really should be no room for that in the city’s planning process, because that’s not planning; it’s just guessing.”

This is not even close to the truth. The amount of retail space that the city can support is a direct function of the amount of retail spending in the marketplace. This can be predicted with a high level of accuracy. Unfortunately, developers have added space at a pace far higher than the growth in spending, and the taxpayers pay the price. The Tanger Mall remains empty and a blight on North Lawrence. The Downtown 2000 project failed and left the taxpayers picking up the tab for an underutilized $8 million parking garage. Other projects sit nearly empty such as the retail portion of the Hobbs-Taylor Building.

City leaders should be guided in their decisions on developments by expert knowledge of how much space can be supported. They should be aware of the blight that overbuilding causes. The taxpayers are not neutral observers; we are investors in the parking garages and other infrastructure. We do not like to see our investments squandered and our neighborhoods blighted to appease developers who cannot regulate their own pace of growth.