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In a time when municipalities are handing out fee breaks and property-tax waivers like candy on Halloween, one city is turning away a big-box retailer while following a plan adopted before the recession.

The city of Wilsonville wants any new developments within its boundaries to dovetail with its goals and plans. Representatives of the local chamber of commerce, however, say such a policy could cost the town hundreds of jobs.

Plans were in the works for a 125,000-square-foot store for Cabela’s – a camping, hunting and fishing supply retailer – to be built in north Wilsonville until property owner Ralph Elligsen met with city planners earlier this month.

The development did not appeal to city staffers because the city’s comprehensive plan and economic opportunities analysis identify the 32-acre lot as a better fit for industrial use. A Cabela’s store would cause transportation headaches for Wilsonville, said Mark Ottenad, government affairs director for the city.

This is a lesson the city has learned when it has welcomed other destination retailers – stores without locations in other parts of the region.

“We have the most congested portion of Interstate 5 in the region,” Ottenad said. “What we learned with Fry’s (Electronics) is that it’s not appropriate to have people leaving the metro region to do their shopping down south.”

According to one of the goals of the analysis, “(Development should) encourage commercial growth at a scale that primarily supports residents in Wilsonville … (and) our adjacent rural areas.”

The proposed retail development would be between 16 and 20 acres and create nearly 300 jobs. The lot sits on 30 buildable acres, which are zoned Residential-Agricultural-Holding. This means it’s unzoned until a development is proposed.

Cabela’s has looked at approximately 12 different sites in the metro region and this is the one it likes the most, Wilsonville Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve Gilmore said. That fact alone makes a case to discuss a zone change, he said.

“You can have concerns about a development and what it will bring, but I just think it’s bad business to tell a prospective development right off the bat that the city doesn’t support it,” Gilmore said. “Give them perspective, but don’t just say no.”

But the city of Wilsonville doesn’t want more property tax revenues and jobs that come with traffic snarls.

According to a city report released last week, “the city has been criticized by members of the Metro Council in the past for allowing the Argyle Square development (a neighboring property) to occur next to the city’s northern I-5 interchange.” Wilsonville hasn’t preserved a sufficient amount of traffic capacity at the interchange, the document said.

“We’ve been loath to surrender our traffic capacity at the interchanges for low-paying retail jobs,” Ottenad said.

Nevertheless, the city is basing its decision on an economic opportunities analysis that was compiled in 2007, said Scott Starr, former president of the chamber, during a special council meeting last week.

“(The) document painted an attractive financial and economic future,” Starr, a candidate for City Council. “Of course, since the midpoint of 2008 through today our financial and economic future has been anything but attractive.”

Besides the retail store, Gilmore added, Cabela’s is looking to potentially build a distribution center in the area in the future. Such an opportunity could be hindered if Wilsonville were to pass on the retail store, he said.

“Maybe we are missing some great opportunities in how we make decisions on our land use because we are basing the decisions on data that just isn’t relevant anymore,” he said.