The staff of the Toledo Plan Commission has recommended disapproval of rezoning and site plans for the proposed Kroger Marketplace on 19 acres of the Sisters of Notre Dame campus in West Toledo.

The staff is taking issue with the Kroger Co.’s proposal on the order’s 43-acre campus at Secor Road and Monroe Street on several levels, including that it conflicts with the Toledo 20/​20 Comprehensive Plan. The staff also has concerns about the effect the commercial development could have on traffic.

The commission will hold public hearings beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday at Government Center before voting whether to accept its staff’s recommendation. The panel will take up the request to change the property’s zoning from single-dwelling residential to regional commercial and the review of the site plans for the project in two hearings.

Kroger said in December it had secured an option to buy the land to construct a store to replace its aging supermarket at 4533 Monroe St., which is across Secor from the Sisters of Notre Dame Toledo provincial headquarters campus.

The Cincinnati-based grocery chain has hosted three meetings for area residents and parents of Notre Dame Academy students on the project.

Emotions ran high at Thursday night’s informational meeting in the chapel of Provincial House, where about 100 people listened to Kroger representatives explain their plans for the convent grounds. Some people said they were concerned about what Kroger will do to the mature trees on the grounds.

A heated exchange began between Tricia Taylor-Lyphout, who is opposed to the project, and Michael Batdorf, who said he wants the new, larger store because of the $26 million investment Kroger has planned to make and the promise of additional jobs that goes along with it.

Ms. Taylor-Lyphout of West Toledo said putting a new store on the property is a poor choice because heavy traffic on Secor presents a challenge to pedestrians and bicyclists.

“I can’t send my kid to that Kroger on a bike because I am not going to get my kid on a bike in the middle of that awful traffic,”Ms. Taylor-Lyphout said. “I can’t walk there or send my kids to the store to walk across Secor.”

Mr. Batdorf said Kroger is investing millions of dollars in the community and that Ms. Taylor-Lyphout’s concerns about traffic congestion should be with Toledo, not Kroger, because the city controls the traffic signals.

“This property has been for sale for a long time. The fact that a responsible publicly traded company is willing to come along, pay the price, and put the money into a location like this ... is more than favorable,” he said.

Proposals submitted to the plan commission show that the 122,455-square-foot store will be built on the west edge of property it wants to buy from the sisters.

The primary entrance with two lanes of traffic in each direction would be on Monroe and controlled with a traffic signal. An additional curb-cut on Secor would allow only right-hand turns into the store and right turns leaving the property.

The company’s plans also anticipate development of four out lots on the development’s perimeter along Secor and Monroe.

The sale would not affect the nearby Notre Dame Academy or the Maria Early Learning Center. Kroger plans to provide a landscape buffer between the development and the high school’s property.

The plan commission, under its recommendations, believes the change to commercial would be out of character and too intensive with the existing use of the surrounding property, and it would lead to increased traffic and congestion problems.

The Toledo 20/​20 Comprehensive Plan, which is a design plan to guide for growth, targets the area for institutional-type campus use such as a hospital, school, or college.

The plan commission staff said redeveloping the property for large-scale commercial use is inconsistent with the 20/​20 plan and that Kroger’s request for regional commercial is incompatible with the surrounding area.

“The parklike residential setting is a unique feature, surrounded by commercial development, and should be preserved,” the report said.

Plan commission staffers also said the company’s proposal is inconsistent with nearby existing low-intensity commercial businesses and medical offices, residential neighborhoods, and schools.

Jennifer Jarrell, spokesman for the Kroger’s Columbus division, said the grocer understands the plans are not in line with Toledo’s 20/​20 plan.

“But we do strongly believe the project would complement the neighborhood,” Ms. Jarell said. “We believe we are presenting a project that is very much in character with the Monroe and Secor corridor, especially in light of the recent development of Secor Road. This is a real testament to what is happening in that area.”

Thursday’s meeting was the second informational session the Cincinnati-based grocery chain has hosted for area residents.

District 5 Councilman Tom Waniewski said he respects the plan commission staff’s efforts, but he supports Kroger’s plans to relocate to the property because of the economic development impact.

“This will infuse construction jobs and retail jobs,” Mr. Waniewski said. “To me this is pretty much a no-brainer. That area is ground zero for real estate. I like development. I like investment. I like jobs.”

Contact Mark Reiter at: markreiter@theblade.com or 419-724-6199.

First Published May 8, 2015, 4:00 a.m.