NEW HAMPSHIRE SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART INCHES FORWARD

Wal-Mart inches forward [The Brattleboro (Vt.) Reformer]

HINSDALE, N.H.—A proposed Wal-Mart superstore cleared its first regulatory hurdle Tuesday night as the town planning board approved its initial design review.

The informal hearing, which is required for any major development, was a chance for board members and the public to raise concerns about the project before Wal-Mart submits a more formal application for approval. The project will go before the planning board again for a development review hearing when Wal-Mart is ready to go forward.

Bohler Engineering consultant Stephen DeCoursey told the board that 28 acres of the Hinsdale Greyhound Park’s 91.5 acre lot would be subdivided and used for the superstore. The 195,000-square-foot store would include 972 parking spaces, an expanded driveway where the track’s employee entrance currently runs and a new traffic light at the store’s entrance on Route 119.

Wal-Mart is concurrently seeking state approval for the project’s traffic, environmental and septic plans, DeCoursey said.

Though he would not say when Wal-Mart plans to begin construction or to open the store, DeCoursey said the company is “moving expeditiously.”

Several abutters of the property raised concerns about traffic, security, noise and lighting.
Edna Gray, who has lived just north of the proposed site for 30 years, raised concerns about increased northbound traffic caused by shoppers exiting the store and turning right. She recalled when the track also ran horse races and drew many more people to the area.

“It was bumper to bumper to bumper cars. This is going to be bigger,” she said. “I think it’s important to consider the people who live next door.”

Rebecca Brown, a traffic engineer for Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., said she would take Gray’s comments into consideration. She also said that a roundabout had been proposed in lieu of a traffic light, but because of the high speeds along Route 119, that idea might be unsafe.

Board of Selectmen member Kathy Stephens, who also sits on the planning board, said she was concerned about current practices at the existing Wal-Mart on George’s Field. She said she did not want to see parking spaces used for storage or the garden center, and she said that snow should be removed from the property, rather than dumped in the middle of the parking lot.

DeCoursey said the relocation and expansion of the store would alleviate those issues.

“That’s part of the reason they want to move to this location,” he said. “That store is too small to serve the market.”

In response to questions about the site’s security plan, regional market manager Mark Lauren said the 24-hour store would have an “asset protection department” that would work with local police and monitor the building’s exterior. He said the store would use an extensive camera surveillance system to keep tabs on all areas.

“Our security is pretty top notch,” he said.

Steve Bonnett—a Hinsdale resident and lawyer for Deborah George, who owns the land where the existing Wal-Mart sits—spoke at length about concerns he had with an increased burden on the police force, snow removal practices and traffic. He also said that when Wal-Mart uses parking spaces for storage and retail, it avoids having to pay additional taxes.

“I do not want to see a whole lot of outside storage like there has been for years,” he said.

Bonnett said that while Wal-Mart is negotiating with George over its lease agreement for the existing store, he remains concerned that the building could “go dark” if Wal-Mart relocates.

“As a citizen of the town, that’s important to me,” he said.

Town attorney Neil Berkson, who asked several questions about the proposed plan, advised Wal-Mart’s representatives to add surrounding towns to its abutters list because the project is a regional issue.

“You’re safer if you do that,” he said.

“But you do not have to notify towns in Vermont,” he joked.