For the divided Country Meadows neighborhood in southeast Lincoln, a proposed home improvement store has turned into an episode of "Let's Make a Deal."

Do they want the 138,000-square-foot Lowe's Home Improvement store that comes with a package of protections offered by developers? Or would they like to go for what's behind curtain No. 2?

That unknown could place up to 300 residential homes on the 62 acres along the south side of Nebraska 2, instead of the 32 homes and 235,000 square feet of commercial development proposed by Apple's Way and UNO Properties.

The 300 homes option is a possibility allowed under current zoning.

Both options have supporters, Lincoln attorney Rob Ott told the City Council during a public hearing on the issue Monday. Ott was hired by the neighborhood association board of directors to reach a deal favorable to the neighborhood.

Residents are split, he said, between those who believe commercial development is inevitable, so get the best deal, and those who remain wedded to fighting commercial development.

To make the deal attractive, the Lowe's plan would keep an existing hill, buffer the existing neighborhood by building 32 homes on half-acre lots, prohibit fast-food and 24-hour convenience stores, add sound barriers and use restrictive traffic patterns.

Opponents called the threat of 300 homes on the property a paper tiger, saying any number of proposals could be brought forth for that land.

Area resident Christine Kiewra claimed her neighborhood was promised the homes, not retail properties, when a Home Depot was forced upon it years ago. That deal was brokered by then-Mayor Don Wesely as a way of protecting the Nebraska 2 traffic corridor.

"You need to keep your promises," Kiewra said.

Mark Hunzeker, an attorney for the developers, said plans change.

"There have been changes in every comprehensive plan we have had," he told the council. It's symptomatic of this community, he said, to underestimate how much commercial space will be needed.

Don Kuhn said when he first settled in the area 38 years ago, people spoke of limiting Nebraska 2 commercial development to prevent congestion. The battle cry then was, "We don't want a Cornhusker Highway," he said.

Building 300 residences would add 2,500 vehicle trips per day to Nebraska 2, said Randy Hoskins, a city traffic engineer. The Lowe's project would add 9,000, he said.

Hunzeker said traffic issues were ubiquitous throughout Lincoln.

Area resident Art Zygielbaum said he participated in planning processes that led to restrictions on commercial property in the area. To allow anything but residential development now amounted to a bait-and-switch, he said.

Marvin Krout, city-county planning director, said the council's vote on this proposal would determine how other property owners along the Nebraska 2 corridor view prospect for their land.

Hunzeker denied that allowing commercial development along the corridor created anything like another Cornhusker Highway. Lowe's would be set back from the highway, like the nearby Home Depot and Wal-Mart, he said.

"This is not even remotely similar to Cornhusker highway."

The Council could vote on the issue at its meeting Monday.

Reach Mark Andersen at 473-7238 or mandersen@journalstar.com.