SPEAKING OUT IN YUCCA VALLEY, CA
What a sad day for Yucca Valley as it appears that the Wal-Mart Supercenter is a go. Kudos to Council Member Lori Herbel for taking time to actually review the Environmental Impact Report, and for being the lone voice of reason and common sense. Shame on the four council members who completely ignored the EIR and blindly voted in favor of the project. Why waste money on an EIR if you’re going to ignore it?
The council members in question are drinking the Wal-Mart Corporate Koolaid filled with empty promise and dollars. These four should be remembered for this blunder and then voted out of office in the next election.
I have done a lot of traveling across this nation and have seen first-hand what happens to the typical small town when the Supercenter moves in. Yes, they will create 150 new minimum-wage part-time jobs. But when Stater Bros. and Vons or Food For Less close, we will lose that many good-paying jobs. Is that better for the community?
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Topics: Community Impact | Economic/Small Business | Environment |
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 | Permalink
CONTROVERSY IN NIAGARA, NY
CONSTRUCTION: Wal-Mart debate gets dirty [Tonawanda News (N.Y.)]
Town of Niagara officials jokingly refer to ongoing construction at the Super Wal-Mart site as “the dust bowl.”
But their sense of humor appears to be running thin.
Concerned over the amount of complaints piling up, and frustrated by a perceived lack of response from Niagara Falls officials, the town’s Police Department teamed up with state police on Tuesday to monitor work at the Military Road construction site and cite any vehicles not following safety precautions.
The day-long surveillance was done to help curb the amount of dust, dirt and other debris coming off the construction site and onto Military Road, which is creating driving and health hazards, said Town of Niagara Police Chief James Suitor. A total of 12 tickets for various violations were issued to dump trucks leaving the site, including two that resulted in trucks being taken out of service, he said.
“We just want them to comply with safety issues,” Suitor said. “We’re not trying to halt any work.”
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Topics: Environment |
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 | Permalink
VICTORY IN WRENTHAM, MA
Wrentham officials: Wal-Mart not coming [Sun Chronicle (Mass.)]
Word that has been circulating the past few years that Wal-Mart was going to open a store in town will apparently remain rumor.
Town officials say they have recently been told the retail giant isn’t coming to Wrentham.
“I hear Wal-Mart is not coming to town,” Town Planner Paige Duncan said. “I never saw anything official” that the discounter was coming.
“Unofficially, I have been told they have abandoned” any plans, Duncan said.
The site that had been eyed is the Simeone property off South Street (Route 1A) and Green Street and near Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. Access would have been through the BJs warehouse site off South Street. The Simeone land had been the target of several controversial proposals over the years, including a water park, and now part of the land is being developed into warehouse use.
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Topics: Traffic/Sprawl |
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 | Permalink
EXPANSION APPROVED IN BOONE, NC
Boone Wal-Mart gets approval for expansion [The Watauga Democrat (N.C.)]
The Boone Wal-Mart may offer low prices, but its square footage is about to get higher.
The current store is set to expand its facilities by approximately 28,000 square feet for a grand total of 149,978 square feet.
The Boone Town Council approved an additional water allocation of 1,998 gallons per day for the expansion, and attorney Don O’Toole spoke on behalf of Wal-Mart.
O’Toole said a store with less than 150,000 square feet is not a typical Wal-Mart size.
“It’s a lot smaller store than Wal-Mart typically builds,” he said. “With the expansion of this store, I think Boone will be getting some good improvements to the existing store.”
According to Boone Development Services, construction is expected to occur on the north side of the existing building, in the parking lot area.
O’Toole said the current store would be updated to meet the town’s Unified Development Ordinance requirements, including increased landscaping on site, an increase of pervious surface and enhanced architecture.
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Topics: Environment |
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 | Permalink
COUNCIL POSTPONES WAL-MART VOTE AFTER HEATED DEBATE IN TRACY, CA
UPDATE: Wal-Mart vote postponed [Tracy Press (Calif.)]
The City Council decided late Tuesday night that a vote regarding an expanded Wal-Mart could wait until a meeting Aug. 5.
After hearing extended testimony from supporters and the opponents of a controversial plan to allow Wal-Mart to turn its existing Grant Line Road enterprise into a Supercenter, the council decided to send the matter back to staff.
The specific matter before the council Tuesday was to approve or dismiss an environmental impact report that would pave the way for Wal-Mart to add 82,000 square feet of space to reach a total of 208,000 square feet, 30,000 square feet of which would be devoted to groceries. A standing-room only crowd watched and weighed in on the perceived wisdom of the move.
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Topics: Environment | Traffic/Sprawl |
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 | Permalink
BATTLE COMING TO AN END IN ST. ALBANS, VT?
Squeezing Wal-Mart [Bennington Banner (Vt.)]
The long regulatory battle over the proposed Wal-Mart in St. Albans Town may at last be nearing its conclusion. On July 7, the Environmental Court will hear appeals of six permits that together will allow Wal-Mart’s developer, JLD Properties of Burlington, to build the long-awaited new superstore.
St. Albans Town planners had anticipated commercial development at Exit 20 since 1972. In 1993 Wal-Mart first proposed a 100,000-square-foot store at that location. The town issued a zoning permit. Wal-Mart agreed to pay for water and sewer line extensions. The District Environmental Commission issued an Act 250 permit.
But at the time the Vermont Natural Resources Council and its enviro-allies were determined that Vermont would continue to be the only state in the union not to have a Wal-Mart. The National Trust for Historic Preservation helpfully declared the entire state of Vermont to be one of “America’s Most Endangered Places.”
The enviros appealed the Act 250 permit to the now-abolished Environmental Board. That board was then chaired by Arthur Gibb of Weybridge, who had been the chief promoter of Act 250 in the 1970 legislature. Gibb’s board rejected the permit with a ruling that was both ridiculous and dishonest.
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Topics: Environment | Zoning Regulations |
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 | Permalink
Hamilton, PA. Wal-Mart Waltzes Into Small Township
If a groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania comes out of his hole on Route 119, he’s likely to see the shadow of a huge Wal-Mart supercenter. Five miles away in Hamilton, Pennsylvania, Wal-Mart wants to build another supercenter, almost in the shadow of Punxsutawney.
Hamilton has a population just under 10,000 people. According to Public Opinion News, plans have been submitted to the township for a 151,765 s.f. Wal-Mart superstore on 50 acres of land along Route 30 near Highway 995. The store would be located west of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, but get its sewer services from Hamilton. A land development plan will have to be reviewed by the Hamilton township Supervisors. “We have not talked with the developers at all,” Township Supervisor Michael Kessinger told Public Opinion News. “Until they do a formal submission, we have nothing to talk about.”
Wal-Mart has hired the engineering firm of Lennon, Smith, Souleret, the same firm that handled the defunct Wal-Mart project in Kilbuck Township, Pennsylvania, where a landslide during site preparation buried the project in 2006. Even though the township says it has seen no plans and spoken to no developer, the project has a name: the “Hamilton Township Retail Center.” This store was supposed to begin construction in the spring 2008, according to a plan that was submitted 15 months ago to the Borough of Chambersburg and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. “It’s in the review process,” said the assistant office manager of the Hamilton Township Municipal Authority. “They made a revised (sewage planning module) submission in June.”
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Topics: Traffic/Sprawl
Posted by Al Norman on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 | Permalink
WAL-MART AT PEACE WITH LOCAL BUSINESS IN COBOURG, CANADA?
Cobourg DBIA, Wal-Mart reach accord [Northumberland News (Canada)]
The Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) and Wal-Mart hope to prove that big and small business can coexist and prosper in Cobourg.
Wal-Mart recently approached Town council for approval on a 64,000 square foot expansion. The expansion would add 39,000 sq. ft. of grocery products, food display, preparation and cold storage and an extra 25,000 sq. ft. of non-food related retail space. The DBIA asked council to delay its decision until they could meet with Wal-Mart and discuss ways to coexist and work together. Those discussions have yielded two initiatives which the DBIA believes will work for both parties.
One plan will focus on the beautification of the downtown area, while the other will focus on marketing initiatives that will seek to entice visitors to downtown Cobourg. The DBIA plans to beautify the downtown by lighting all of the trees in the area, a project which will now be completed thanks to assistance from Wal-Mart and the Town. “We didn’t have the money for a big capital project like that, so we partnered with (them),” said Sue Dingsdale-Glover, chairwoman of the DBIA.
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Topics: Community Impact | Economic/Small Business | Comprehensive Plans | | Canada
Posted by Joel Nezianya on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 | Permalink
