The Oklahoma State Capital

On Monday, Sept. 11, the Edmond City Council approved site plans for an 86,000 square foot Kohl's Department Store on the northeast corner of Santa Fe and Danforth.

Kohl's, based in Wisconsin, is a family department store with 300 stores nationwide.

Before the council approved the plan by a 4-0 vote, objections were raised by Joel Kahn, resident of The Trails, a neighborhood near the development site. Kahn said developers did a fine job putting Kohl's in, but that one wall of the structure does not meet city building codes.

Kahn was referring to the east wall which will be a possible expansion area for the building and will not be bricked in the same manner as the rest of the structure. He also said the building does not meet matching architectural requirements of the neighborhood. "This is a cookie cutter box," he said..."a big box of brick." Kahn indicated he thought the building would appear more appropriate near a mall.

Ward 1 Councilman Rice also voiced concern about the building in regard to the east wall. "I have a real problem," Rice said. "It could be a free-standing building for a long time." Rice also questioned the percentage of landscaping Kohl's had planned and the maintenance of a fenced area on the property.

A spokesman for Kohl's assured Councilman Rice that code requirements for landscaping had been more than met. Attorney Dennis Box, representing Kohl's, expressed a willingness to work with residents near the development site and assured council that Kohl's will provide a new traffic light at the Santa Fe intersection and an eight foot fence behind the department store.

"Kohl's is excited to come to Edmond," Box said, indicating that there were plans for opening four stores in the general area.