GUELPH — Home improvement giant Lowe's may be coming to Guelph.

A publicly available "concept plan" on the city's website shows a drawing of the retailer in the empty spot next to Costco, at 129 Elmira Road South.

The company has submitted a zoning by-law amendment application to the City of Guelph to add a home-improvement type store to the list of development allowed there, modify the parking standard and to make other administrative adjustments to the zoning for the property.

Mayor Cam Guthrie posted the news on his personal blog, Thursday.

"(Lowe's) had reached out to me just before I was inaugurated on Dec. 1 and said that they were wanting to look at coming to Guelph, and I immediately said, 'Well get over here then,'" he said in an interview.

The application will be discussed at a public city council meeting on March 9 at City Hall.

The area is designated as one of the city's "commercial nodes."

This is just the first step in the planning process but "based on what I'm seeing so far, it looks like it would be a good fit in my mind," said Guthrie.

The timeline will "depend on what is said at that March 9 meeting," he added.

"I will have to listen to what staff has to say on it and of course I'll have to listen to what the residents have to say, too."

Guthrie said the store's plans to open in Guelph are exactly why he ran for mayor and the retailer will bring jobs and choice for consumers.

He said there will always be a few "naysayers" about big box stores.

"I guess my response to those people would be, just don't go there then," he said.

"It really bothers me that really what they're saying is, I don't want anybody to have jobs."

Councillor Mike Salisbury said he's "optimistic" about plans for the store to come to his ward.

But he has some concerns about the traffic it may bring as people drive in from nearby cities and towns to shop.

"We have regional scale development taking place on community level roads," he said, naming Paisley Road as an example.

"It is the primary link to the Hanlon and it's a residential street. It's 50 km/h."

He'd like to see a city-wide traffic assessment to look at, for example, if there are changes that should be made to public transit to help alleviate traffic.

"It's a bit like changing the course of the Titanic. It doesn't steer real quick, but at least it's something I know I'm aware of, and pushing for," Salisbury said.

Fellow ward councillor Christine Billings welcomes the big-box store, especially now that Target has closed.

"It provides more choice for consumers, more job creation, more tax revenues," she said.

But she does share some of Salisbury's traffic worries, and notes turning into Costco at peak times can be tough already.

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"I do believe there will be traffic concerns because I have them," Billings said.

A spokesperson for Lowe's said it's the company's policy not to comment on any transactions or growth plans unless a real estate deal is in place.

The American home improvement chain is a Fortune 50 company and employs thousands at locations across the continent.