WISCONSIN SITE FIGHT: STILL FIGHTING

Group continues Wal-Mart fight [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Hartford - The opponents of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the city’s west side are still fighting, taking their case to a three-judge state appeals panel hoping to get their “day in court.”

Meanwhile, construction of the 185,000-square-foot department store on 22 acres continues, as do the legal expenses for the city and the opposition group, Hartford Citizens for Responsible Government.

Hartford Citizens for Responsible Government is asking a state appeals court to overturn Washington County Circuit Judge David C. Resheske’s decision to not hear the group’s appeal of a city Plan Commission decision last August to allow Wal-Mart to include an oil-change bay without a conditional use permit.

HCRG appealed that decision to the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals in November, which ruled in favor of the Plan Commission.

By law, HCRG had until the end of the day on Jan. 2 to appeal that decision to circuit court.

According to court testimony, HCRG member Jan Hatch delivered the appeals paperwork to the Washington County Clerk of Courts office about 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, just as the office was closing.

Hatch handed the paperwork to a clerk there but was told it wouldn’t be filed until the next day, Jan. 3.

Resheske ruled that HCRG had missed the deadline.

Plymouth attorney Elizabeth Rich said the issue is whether the paperwork was deposited at the courthouse on time.

“We’re alleging (in the appeal) that the legal standard is that if you deposit it with the clerk, then it is legally filed,” Rich said.

If the appeals court agrees with HCRG, then the case will be sent back to circuit court.

“Only at that time will we be able to get into the merits of the case,” Rich said. “We’re looking for our day in court.”

“The clock doesn’t lie,” Mayor Scott Henke said. “They needed to get it there on time and they didn’t do that. It’s their right to continue to appeal. But I think it’s really just frivolous at this point, in my opinion.”

When completed, the project is expected to add $14 million to the city’s tax base, generating about $280,000 in tax revenue annually.

Wal-Mart will take up 22 of the site’s 44 acres. Other commercial development, roadways and a bike trail, paid for by Wal-Mart, will account for the rest.

Highway 60 is in the process of being widened to four lanes. Traffic lights will be installed at Independence Ave. and Wacker Drive.

Supercenters are larger than ordinary Wal-Mart retail stores. They include a grocery store, as well as a larger automotive department and service center.

Challenging the decision
In her appeal of the zoning board’s decision, Hatch called the board’s ruling “arbitrary and capricious” and said it “was not supported by the evidence on the record.”

At the appeals board hearing in November, an attorney representing the group argued that the automotive section required the permit because automotive service is not explicitly listed as a permitted use for that area.

Lawyers for the city and for Wal-Mart argued that the department store was a permitted use and that each of its departments was thereby also permitted, as long as they are under the same roof as the rest of the store.

The proposed Wal-Mart automotive section would take about 6,700 of the store’s 185,000 square feet.

The appeals board sided with the city and Wal-Mart.

The project has been a lightning rod for controversy ever since it first was announced.

Disputed from beginning
In March 2006, aldermen voted 7-2 to annex almost 44 acres of farmland in the Town of Hartford on the north side of Highway 60. They also voted to rezone the property for commercial use and approved a developer’s agreement with Wal-Mart.

About 32 people spoke at a public hearing that night, with 25 opposing the project, saying it would add to the city’s traffic congestion and hurt downtown businesses.

HCRG forced recall elections against two aldermen who voted for annexation.

The first recall was held in October when 3rd District Ald. Kathleen Isleb defeated challenger Randy Geoffroy 327-171. The second was in November when Hatch ran against 1st District Ald. Jacki Lokken. Lokken beat Hatch 434-91.

Cost of challenge
The recalls and legal wrangling so far have cost the city about $45,000, Henke estimated.

Meanwhile, construction of the Wal-Mart continues. It is expected to be completed by May or June, Henke said.

Money also is a concern to HCRG, Rich said, saying the group will not seek a court injunction to stop construction pending the outcome of the appeal.

“The group just doesn’t have the funds to seek a temporary restraining order,” Rich said.