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Residents split as Target takes aim at town

By Jim McCartney

The last time the city of Northfield, Minn., was this divided over an issue was three decades ago, when students from Carleton College, one of two liberal arts colleges in town, were protesting the Vietnam War.

Downtown Northfield, Minn., could see a Target store soon.

These days, the community is split over a Target store, proposed for the outskirts of this college and farming town 45 miles south of the Twin Cities. The issue was a major one in the city council election last fall, and even went to a public referendum in early March. Pro-Target development supporters won by a margin of less than 2%.

The battle between small town preservationists and big-box retailers is not a new one for Northfield. In the late 1980s, city officials rejected a proposal from Wal-Mart to build a store on the edge of town. Kmart eyed Northfield as well, but ended up building a store in nearby Dundas.

In simplest terms, at issue is the impact a large big-box retailer or mall on the edge of town could have on the economy, culture and environment of the local community.

Opponents fear that the 124,000-square-foot store would destroy the quaint, close-knit downtown district that features coffee shops, boutiques, clothing stores and a small department store. What's more, the project is expected to include an adjacent mall, expected to be about 250,000 square feet, and that could siphon off customers and direct traffic away from the downtown stores, its opponents say.

Some residents of Bridgewater Township, where the complex would be located, also fear it would cause traffic tangles and pollution.

"We'd like to maintain the retail focus on our downtown area," said Catherine Dominguez, who owns a coffee shop in downtown Northfield called Goodbye Blue Monday with her husband.

Supporters, who include some top city and business officials, argue that Northfield needs a well-run discount store like Target -- residents now have to drive outside the area for many of the items Target offers.

After all, Target -- the discount subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Dayton Hudson -- is a home-town favorite for many Minnesotans. And the fight is almost literally taking place in the firm's backyard: Northfield is just 45 miles south of the Twin Cities.

What's more, supporters say the new mall would enhance the local economy -- as well as the city government's coffers through additional property taxes.

It's an issue that's been played out all over the United States in recent years. The war clearly has gone the way of the Targets and Wal-Marts and others that have become the largest and most successful retailers in the country.

But opponents of sprawl are becoming increasingly organized, and are starting to win their share of battles. And as Target expands into the crowded East Coast market, as well as into smaller markets, it will likely run up against these "sprawl-busters" on a frequent basis.

Al Norman of Greenfield, Mass., one of the best-known "sprawl-busters" in the country, is keeping a close eye on the Northfield situation. Five years ago, Norman helped his community defeat a proposal to build a Wal-Mart in Greenfield, and he has adopted the cause with revolutionary zeal. A group of Target opponents from Northfield called Citizens for Responsible Development met with him late last year in Decorah, Iowa, where he was helping a citizens group fend off a proposal for a new Wal-Mart.

"Big-box retailing has destroyed our downtowns," Norman said.

But some experts recommend that small-town retailers adapt to progress rather than fight it. Ken Stone, an economics professor at Iowa State University, has been studying the effect of Wal-Mart and other big discounters on small towns for years. His conclusion is that while a Wal-Mart will increase a community's overall economic activity, it will also hurt small shops that sell the same kinds of goods.

Although the big discounters have been kept out of some small towns, they win more battles than they lose because residents generally want to shop at them, he said.

Citizens for Responsible Development argues that it might favor a smaller Target built in or closer to the downtown district. If carefully designed to fit into the district, a small-scale Target might actually benefit downtown.

But this proposal has not gotten much of a hearing from city officials, much less Target. There are no sites suitable for a Target in the downtown district, especially if you consider traffic congestion and parking, said Scott Neal, the city's administrator. And besides, Target may be willing to experiment with its format in downtown Minneapolis, where it is building a two-level store, but it isn't likely to break the mold for Northfield.

Bill Rossman, Northfield's mayor and a proponent of the proposed Target, is puzzled that downtown supporters would want Target there. Saying they will be better off with the discount store at a safe yet convenient distance, he said he is working on several initiatives to renovate the downtown district.

Meanwhile, Target officials bridle at the city's attempt to guide its development. The proposed changes, based in part on recommendations of the city's Minneapolis-based consultant BRW, stipulate a variety of parking, infrastructure and architectural requirements aimed at making the project "sensitive to its surroundings," as well as to the city's historic setting.

In response to an early draft of the regulations, Target told city officials in February that proposed zoning regulations would make building the store "cost prohibitive."

While encouraged by the vote, Target officials point out that its plans remain preliminary, and that there are a number of approvals left to win. Since the March referendum, Target officials have declined to talk about specific issues they have with the new zoning ordinance and how it may affect their plans for a store.

"Negotiations are ongoing, and we really don't want to talk about specific things we're having a problem with at this point,'' said Denise Warkouff, a Target spokeswoman.

Even if Target and the city do come to an agreement on what kind of development will be allowed, there would still be a variety of hurdles to clear, including annexation and a battery of review-and-approval by the city council and planning commission.

What's more, Citizens for Responsible Development is mulling a challenge to the project in the courts, citing procedural missteps in the land-use planning and environmental review process, according to Carol Overland, a Northfield attorney advising the group. Mayor Rossman concedes it may take a considerable amount of time and good fortune for Target to come to his town.