By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DEERFIELD TWP. - If Wal-Mart gets the go-ahead to build in this Warren County community, the township zoning commission wants to make sure the development does not look like what's been proposed.

The board agreed this week on 44 conditions they feel should be imposed on the long-discussed Supercenter. Some conditions could drastically alter plans for the 44-acre site by rearranging the layout and possibly reducing the number of parking spaces or even the building size.

Wal-Mart developers and engineers said they were surprised at the changes and would have to evaluate them.

"This caught us off guard," said project engineer David Oakes, president of Dayton-based CESO Engineers and Surveyors.

The commission also wants to limit signs, ban outside storage and merchandise sales and, most notably, add more open, green space between the 203,000-square-foot store and surrounding roads. The zoning commission also wants to have a study done to see if the area can handle more retail.

"I recognize that it's normally a stage one review item, but stage one was done back in 1996," commission member Don de Reynier said of the study. "There's been a significant amount of additional retail development in this area."

The zoning commission meets again Feb. 23.

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com