Merrillville council OKs Costco employee parking lot after traffic and indemnity conditions

The Merrillville Town Council voted to approve a variance allowing Costco Wholesale Corporation to combine two parcels on East 79th Avenue and build an off-street employee parking lot, contingent on negotiated waiver/release language and traffic-control measures.

Sheila Shine, who presented the Board of Zoning Appeals recommendation, said the BZA approved the petition 4–0 and described the proposal as a variance of use to permit an employee parking facility where on-site expansion was not possible. "Costco of Merrillville has experienced consistent and regular growth in membership and sales," Shine told the council, saying parking demand can reach about 85 percent capacity on weekends.

Larry Jurczyk, identified as a Costco real-estate consultant, said the company is working with town staff and outside consultants on final engineering and site plans. "We continue working with your staff engineer and your outside consultant on the final engineering and site plans," Jurczyk said, and noted Costco would remove the existing building and combine the parcels to construct landscaping, pedestrian signage and lighting.

Councilmember Pettit moved to approve the variance "with comments and direction from Ricardo," and Councilmember Diona asked the motion be contingent on the town being "indemnified" or protected against pedestrian and traffic risks near 79th Avenue. Diona said he was "not crazy about just putting in a parking lot as opposed to a commercial building, which would generate property taxes higher than a parking lot," but acknowledged Costco "has been a very good neighbor in the town."

Council and staff described planned traffic mitigations associated with the project: a HAWK pedestrian signal, new striping and signage, speed-loop detectors and a central planter designed to assist traffic control. Jurczyk told the council that turning-template studies show the planter "will not deter any sort of traffic movements" and that Costco would consider maintaining landscaping.

Council and applicant representatives said they were finalizing language for a waiver or release (the applicant preferred a waiver/release rather than indemnification) and expected to resolve it before final subdivision review. The council took a roll-call vote and the motion carried; Jurczyk said the applicant would appear before the March planning commission for preliminary subdivision review.

The vote concluded without an amendment to change the land-use proposal; the council recorded the motion as approved with the stated conditions and follow-up steps.