The odds favor Home Depot this time around

Home Depot will formally present its proposal for the former Kmart site on Hampshire Road later this spring. For all intents and purposes, it's probably a "done deal." There are no major hurdles to jump because Home Depot's proposed location meets city zoning and other requirements. According to Home Depot representatives, a home improvement store draws less traffic than a big box retailer like Kmart.

There will, of course, be opposition.

The usual Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) crowd will claim that Home Depot will destroy life as we know it. They'll tell us the sky is falling and that the Thousand Oaks City Council lives in the hip pocket of developers.

Will the project bring more traffic back to Hampshire Road? Of course it will. And Hampshire Road isn't the smoothest route in town, particularly around the 101 Freeway and at Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Traffic will be especially dicey on Saturday mornings when do-it-yourselfers tackle their weekend projects.

Home Depot representatives predict the new store will generate $400,000 in annual sales tax revenue. We wonder about the inevitable reduction in sales tax revenue, however, from the Do-it Center and Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) or how much tax revenue will be scavenged from Home Depot's existing Newbury Park store.

The Do-it Center waged war and twice won recent battles against Home Depot in Agoura Hills and against Lowe's in the city of Westlake Village. But this time the battle seems over before it begins. In the third confrontation, the deck is clearly stacked in favor of the larger store.

We hope Do-it Center and OSH can both continue operations in Thousand Oaks. There's something to be said for smaller service-oriented stores where things are easier to find, the parking is convenient and you can be in and out in less time. Many consumers, though, prefer superstores.

It would be nice if every store could stay in business.