After praising the Atlanta-based retailers efforts to appease neighbors' concerns, commission members essentially said the 105,500-square-foot store with an attached 14,700-square-foot garden center and an adjacent two-story parking structure was not appropriate for the location.

The Atlanta-based retailer is expected to appeal the commission's decision to the Beaverton City Council. Home Depot's appeal is tentatively scheduled for the May 14 council meeting.

Home Depot initiated the idea of a store at Southwest Fifth Street and Western Avenue in December 1999, when it filed for the conditional-use permit and other approvals. Home Depot official proceeded to meet with neighbors some 13 times and change designs at least four times.

Planning commissioners used comprehensive-plan provisions to deny the application. A big sticking point was that the area Home Depot wanted to build in is zoned for light industrial, not retail.

Alas, it may not need the store, anyway. On Friday, the company announced an online catalog of products offered throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Arizona and shipped to customers via United Parcel Service (UPS). The five states were selected because the have remote areas where people would likely order products over the Internet.

Founded in 1978, the Home Depot operates 1,166 stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Chile and Argentina. For the fiscal year ended Jan. 28, net sales rose 19% to $45.74 billion, and net income rose 11% to $2.58 billion.

At the close of markets Monday, the company's share price was at $42.19, off $1.59 cents from Friday's close. The company's lowest share price in the last 52-weeks came in October, when shares traded at $34.68. Its highest share price came last April, when shares traded at $70.00.

Instant Insights /

Planning Commission Says Nay to Home Depot

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