By Cindi Andrews
Enquirer staff writer

DENT - If the residents fighting a proposed home improvement store along Harrison Avenue feel like they've been here before, it's because they have.

Lowe's is seeking rezoning to build a 150,000-square-foot store on 18 acres across from Veterans Park.

Hamilton County commissioners will hold a public hearing on the request at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Four years ago, residents headed off an attempt to rezone the same property for an unidentified store that was to be half as big.

The property owner, Jack Geiler, dropped that effort after opponents collected enough signatures from Green Township residents to challenge the zoning with a referendum.

Opponents began re-mobilizing this spring when Geiler submitted a new request to rezone.

"Everybody here understands that property is going to be developed," said nearby resident Allan Lassandro. "However, they are trying to put something on this property that is huge in scale compared to anything around it."

A half-dozen residents - several from the adjacent Chateau Lakes subdivision - spoke against the proposal at a June meeting of the Regional Planning Commission. Despite that, the planning commission voted 5-1 to recommend rezoning the 18 acres for retail.

The township trustees split 1-1 after Chuck Mitchell abstained due to a conflict of interest. Mitchell, a lawyer, has had Geiler as a client in the past. Steve Grote opposed the rezoning; Tony Upton favored it.

The commissioners will have the final say.

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E-mail candrews@enquirer.com