There may have been some legitimate reasons for Lawrence city commissioners to reject a proposed retail project on South Iowa Street this week, but the idea that the city is “not prepared” for development south of the South Lawrence Trafficway isn’t — or shouldn’t be — one of them.

As detailed in a story in Thursday’s Journal-World, it’s nonsensical to say the city hasn’t been preparing for that development for years. The Southern Development Plan, first approved in 1994 and updated in 2013, maps out future development from the SLT to the Wakarusa River. In anticipation of projected growth in that area, the city is building a new $50 million sewage treatment plant just south of the Wakarusa. The specific property in question already has been annexed into the city.

After years of waiting, the eastern leg of the SLT is scheduled to open later this year. If the city isn’t prepared for development in the requested area, as well as other points along the SLT route, it had better get prepared — and fast.

All the explanations offered by commissioners who voted against the proposal seemed somewhat vague. They could have said the retail proposal didn’t conform to the Southern Development Plan, but that didn’t seem to be the issue. In fact, they implied they also wouldn’t favor a project that did conform to the plan’s designation of the property for “auto-related commercial” development.

Commissioners didn’t say much about it this week, but the elephant in the commission room may have been the concern that allowing such a large retail development on South Iowa would hurt the chances of establishing another retail hub in the city — at the SLT’s intersection with Sixth Street. Retail development at that location probably would benefit the city, but even though land at that site has been zoned for commercial development for years, its owners have been unable to close any deals.

Retailers like to locate closer to other retail, we’re told, not break new ground — even near an underserved residential area. With that in mind, what actions are city officials willing to take to make that development happen? Simply clamping down on retail proposals in other areas is unlikely to work; those businesses will just go to other, more welcoming communities. Are commissioners willing to offer tax rebates or other financial incentives to sweeten a deal at a northwest location?

Being unprepared to jump the SLT isn’t a sufficient, or perhaps plausible, reason for this week’s vote. Land-use issues may have been a factor in this decision, but it seems likely that the bigger issue is how commissioners view Lawrence’s retail development future.