Officials from Meijer are once again scheduled to go in front of the Grand Blanc Township planning commission tonight, and there is a growing sense that many in the community are becoming impatient with the process.
Supporters are ready to have a shopping option in southern Grand Blanc Township and wish planning commissioners would stop sweating the details and get the dirt moving. Those opposed to Meijer have a desire to simply see the township get on with a rejection; after all, the property is not even currently zoned for commercial use.
The issues involved, however, are much more complex. Anyone who has lived through eras when small, personal businesses were the norm, or even someone who has a parent or grandparent who can proudly boast about where the old local hardware store or dime store soda counter were once located, can surely appreciate those who are disgusted by the influx of the big box retailers.
Even the staunchest traditionalists, however, have to admit that relatively little can be done to stop them. The Home Depots and Wal-Marts of the world are not going anywhere any time soon, and the mom-and-pop shops are most likely not coming back, at least with the prevalence they once had.
That doesn’t mean that retail giants have to be welcomed with open arms, however. Grand Blanc is obviously a community where many businesses would like to put down roots. It is the job of people on the planning commission, elected officials and township employees to make sure the developments are quality.
While some feel that the process with Meijer has been dragged out too much, looking at other developments in the community would suggest that the process works, at least in principle. Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stir all types of debate. But walk into the Grand Blanc Township locations, and then walk into the Flint Township Sam’s or the Burton Wal-Mart. If you have to choose, the Grand Blanc buildings are surely much more aesthetically pleasing (though still probably not more aesthetically pleasing than a park full of deer).
Thirty years from now, people will probably not be lovingly describing an old Best Buy building to their grandkids while reminiscing about their community’s past. Big boxes, by their nature, are not destined to become community landmarks, but there is no denying their utility or their staying power.
If it is not Meijer coming into the township, it will be someone else. Township officials seem to understand this, and although the approval process is moving slowly, they are trying to make sure that if the development is coming in, that it will be done in a way that best fits the community.

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