Goodwill Dearborn Petition Held Up Again by City Plan Commission

Goodwill's endeavor to open a retail store in Dearborn is at a standstill for the second month in a row, failing to gain adequate support from the City Plan Commission on Monday.

At Monday evening, the commission heard debate from residents, business owners and Goodwill representatives on the nonprofit's plan to open a resale retail shop in west downtown Dearborn.

But at the end of the night, Commissioner Said Deep's motion to deny the nonprofit's Special Land Use request garnered four votes in favor and for against–and with Commissioner Tawfic Hassan absent, that put the issue in gridlock.

Goodwill's request . At that City Plan meeting, only five of nine commissioners were present, and a vote on the issue couldn't gain the majority support necessary to pass, so the issue was tabled.

Commissioners once again decided to table the issue on Monday night, meaning that Goodwill can bring it up again at the commission's March 12 meeting. As of Monday, representatives of the store said that they were frustrated, but intend to keep trying.

Conversation over the nonprofit's plan to bring a retail store to Dearborn centered around issues of appearance, location, and affect on the surrounding community.

Since January, Goodwill altered their site plan to include a sliding wall that would block off their drive-thru donation area from visibility during non-business hours. The move seemed to mostly appease concerns over the possible build-up of donated goods in the area.

Also new to the debate were 65 emails or phone calls of support received by the city within the past month. A total of 12 calls or emails were received against the plan.

Attorney LeRoy Asher, who addressed the commission on behalf of Goodwill, also brought up several statistics of support, including the fact that the nonprofit's Canton store has generated $800,000 in revenue since opening in December of 2010; and that they would be investing $500,000 in their Dearborn store.

"We are a solid, community-based business going into an existing building that has been vacant for a number of years," Asher contended. “I know there’s been issues with the landlord, but I ask you to judge us on our merits.”

"Not every store can be a Nordstrom’s or a Macy’s," he added. "We aren’t. But we’ll stimulate the area. We will have a positive impact on Dearborn."

Commissioners Deep, Nasser Alrayashi, Chris Forsyth and Nancy Siwik–all of whom voted against the request–disagreed.

"Does it really fit that area? Knowing that we already have discount retail in that area, is there really a need for it there?" asked Forsyth, who in January was in favor of the store. "Those were my concerns."

Added Siwik: "I would welcome Goodwill to find another location that would not be right in our downtown area."

Several residents who spoke at the meeting, as well as Commissioner Deep, agreed that another location in the city would be a better fit for Goodwill.

"We miss what the city was and can’t go back to that," Deep said. "You can’t predict the future, but you can’t settle. I’m not saying Goodwill can’t (attract other businesses). But it’s not worth that gamble."

Though the issue will be brought forward again in March, Commission Chair Gary Errigo said there's no way to force all nine voluntary members to attend in order to get a tie-breaker vote one way or the other.

Commissioner Hassan was also absent from January's meeting, and has not voiced his opinion on the issue publicly.