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:►.;_. to meet the willing to be st century. ing so — they Boy.. se's two higher edu- the increases th. INFORMATION Northfield • What kind of town does it want to be: Only a few communities in Minne- sota have managed to retain their If Target succeeds, it's likely small-town charm:Lanesboro,Stillwa- ter and Red Wing come to mind. And that Hwy. 3 will quickly Northfield. The town's historic Divi- become a prosperous strip sion Street is one of Minnesota's great of big retail est treasures. boxes, • That's why it's so disturbing that, supermarkets, lumberyards for the second time in a dozen years, and fast-food restaurants. -.. preservationists are having to rally • v� against a plan to bring big-box retail- The town's focus will shift ing to Northfield's outskirts. In 1988 southward. The old the town's voters turned away Wal- downtown will languish. - Mart,which has gained a dubious rep- utation nationwide for turning main Sadly, a special town will streets into ghost towns while trans- become more like every J forming the surrounding countryside else. into strips of drive-by clutter. place '? But now comes a more attractive suitor,one that's tougher to turn away. For Target, Northfield poses a lu- shopping Target wants to build a g shopping center on a 30-acre site crative opportunity.It's a picturesque, along Hwy. 3 south of town. Problem high-income college town that will grow is, Northfield's comprehensive plan larger than its current 16,000 residents, III 1 designates historic Division Street as especially if the proposed Minneapolis- its retail core and forbids big box re Burnsville-Northfield commuter rail tailing anywhere else. Building-a Tar- line is built.Town boosters want the tax get, with its vast parking lot and strip revenues that Target and other subur- of attendant businesses,would require ban-style retailers will bring. They ask a zoning change. why Northfield residents should have to Last week, a sympathetic town drive 20 minutes to the Target in Apple .> council authorized a vote that could Valley or to the Burnsville Mall. \j\ do just that. On March 2, Northfield's But the American landscape is clut- voters will decide whether to change tered with towns that have lost their the zoning to allow Target to build. souls in the search for cheaper toilet Not since the days of the Vietnam War paper — and now very much regret has this two-college town been so hot the Faustian bargains they struck.The ly divided. The stakes go way beyond value of a special place like Northfield Target to the fundamental question: can't be measured only in retail sales What kind of town does Northfield and property tax revenues. This is a want to be? If Target succeeds, it's hard concept for those who cannot likely that Hwy. 3 will quickly become imagine progress without suburban- a prosperous strip of big retail boxes, style growth. They haven't visited San Luis Obispo, Calif., or Burlington, Vt., supermarkets, lumberyards and fast food restaurants.The town's focus will cities that have deterred drive-by clut shift southward. The old downtown ter and preserved charming, walkable will languish.Sadly,a special town will downtowns that are genuine gathering become more like every place else. places that strengthen rather than It's curious that so many people fragment the community. • who live in attractive, historic towns It's unfortunate that Target and oth- don't fully appreciate what they al- er big-box retailers aren't trying harder • ready have, and are so willing to risk losing it. It's odd that they long to to design prototypes that fit into tradi- tional downtowns. Until they do, spe- cial places like Northfield have little become ordinary. choice but to resist. l