Neighbors who opposed the development of a HomeGoods distribution center on 290 acres of unused Lordstown farmland should be careful for what they wish.

Facing the very real possibility that his valuable land may never be rezoned to allow construction of the warehouse, one of the landowners who had been marketing his 121 acres to TJX, which operates HomeGoods, now is considering an alternative and permitted agricultural use of the land — specifically, construction of a chicken farm.

Let’s weigh the choices:

• Promises of park-like natural buffers, including trees and landscaping outside the TJX warehouse, or manure-landscaped barns full of squawking birds.

• The potential for up to 1,000 new jobs at TJX, or possibly one (yes, one) new job as a chicken farm attendant.

• Services provided by a company that, by all indications, wants to be a high-quality, community-oriented neighbor, or a farm with little to no community interaction that raises livestock for use in the high-paced, fast-food industry.

By all indications, HomeGoods had the best intentions of being a good neighbor. The company was so intent on honoring its obligation, in fact, that it followed through on a promise to buy the home on an adjacent Hallock Young Road property in the amount of $225,000, Trumbull County Auditor’s records indicated this week.

Whether or not this distribution facility comes to fruition, HomeGoods has kept its word.

If that’s not proof that Lordstown would be getting a good neighbor, we don’t know what is.

It’s time to aggressively move forward with a plan to rezone the area and allow village legislators to make their decision. Let them welcome and hear the debate and then make their decision. And then, pass or fail, let these leaders who have been elected to make decisions that are best for their overall constituency live with the results and whatever repercussions may develop following that vote.