NEWPORT, Ky. — A planned Kroger development in Newport’s West End is officially happening after revoking the appeal for the project’s fuel center.
A new Kroger with a pharmacy, Starbucks and gas station is planned for 20 West 6th Street in a building that once housed an independent grocery store across from Wooden Cask Brewing Company.
The appeal from the West Side Citizens Coalition, submitted on Nov. 4, was initially supposed to be heard during a Dec. 3 Newport Board of Adjustments meeting. Still, attorneys on both sides were given time to reach an agreement. According to Newport Planning and Building Director (soon to be assistant city manager) Brian Steffen, the city rejected the settlement offer proposed by the West Side Citizens Coalition for various reasons, some of which he said were outside the city’s control.
The coalition’s application stated concerns on traffic and safety, environment and health, property values, and setting precedent for future nonconforming development. The coalition disagreed with the process in which the city approved the development because it did not go before a city board.
At the West Side Citizens Coalition meeting on Dec. 17, they voted to withdraw the appeal against the city, and as of Dec. 18, that appeal has been rescinded.
“What we did offer to them, and it’s really what we’ve always done, is willing to meet, willing to discuss, and willing to make positive changes and cooperate with the group and all residents on some of these projects like such as Kroger,” Steffen said.
He said the city has a meeting on Thursday with some of the West Side Citizen Coalition members to discuss their ideas further.
Steffen said that when the city received the application for the development, it reached out to the leadership of neighborhood groups and had them meet with Kroger representatives days later to discuss potential changes.
He said the city disagreed with the appeal’s premise about the process in which Kroger was approved and did not believe anything was done improperly or illegally.
“The big message that I want to have for them is let’s work together,” Newport Assistant City Manager (soon to be city manager) John Hayden said. “We’ve got a new administration coming into the city. We’ve got a new board member coming on. Let’s have a reset on our relationship and start working together.
“There’s a lot of things that we can accomplish. There are a lot of things that I think they have ideas about that we’re happy to talk about-anybody in the city. We’re willing to listen and engage and try to make it a better place for all the residents.”
Ed Davis, a longtime Newport resident, was the signing member of the coalition’s appeal. He said he is hopeful that the city will work with neighborhoods in the future.
“We, too, look forward to working with the city, and there does seem to be a new approach, and that’s one of the reasons we’re willing to withdraw the appeal,” Davis told LINK nky.
Davis said the appeal was never about Kroger itself but the process of approving the development.
“What we’ve done with this appeal, and the process of appealing and then dropping the appeal, I think, are going to be positive for our neighborhood now and in the future,” Davis said.
The new location, which is in addition to the Kroger in the Newport Pavilion, is expected to bring roughly 200 new jobs to the city.
This story originally appeared on our partner's website LINK nky.
