VIRGINIA SITE FIGHT: ORDINANCE REQUIRES BIG BOXES TO SUBMIT PLANS FOR REVIEW

Blacksburg Town Council passes ordinance [Roanoke (Va.) Times]

BLACKSBURG — It’s unanimous. Developers who want to build retail buildings larger than 80,000 square feet in Blacksburg must submit their plans to Town Council for an extra layer of review.

The 7-0 vote for Ordinance 1450 came after more than four hours of public comment, during which even elementary school students weighed in. Even council members and planning commissioners who outlined what they said were weaknesses, even flaws, in the much-debated ordinance, voted for it early this morning.

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Posted by Jason Korta on Wednesday, May 30 | 0 comments | Permalink

North Carolina Site Fight: Morganton Wal-Mart Hearing Delayed

Morganton Wal-Mart hearing delayed [The Charlotte Observer]

Morganton residents will have to wait a bit longer to learn the fate of a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter at N.C. 181 and Independence Boulevard, near Freedom High School: At the retailing giant’s request, the City Council plans to postpone a decision on the store, originally scheduled for June 4.

At a well-attended May 10 planning and zoning commission meeting, all 15 public speakers opposed the 176,311-square-foot store, primarily citing concerns about safety, traffic and quality of life.

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Posted by Jason Korta on Friday, May 25 | 0 comments | Permalink

Fairfax County, VA. Officials Could Reject Stores That Are Too Big

Sprawl-Busters has noted for years that many citizens “hate the box” but love what’s inside. Bargain shoppers will ignore the environmental impacts of a huge retail store on the neighborhood and quality of life impacts on the community—just to buy more cheap Chinese underwear. But unhappiness with the big box prototype, symbolized by the Wal-Mart supercenter, has led to a significant amount of local zoning regulation across the country, designed to make such projects more compatible with surrounding land uses.

The Washington Post reports this week that officials in Fairfax County, Virginia are looking for ways to reshape the way large-scale stores are built. According to the Post, officials “are looking at making big-box stores build up instead of out, fit better into existing neighborhoods and leave less of a blemish on the environment—and the eye.” “It isn’t to say ‘absolutely no’ to big boxes,” Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, told the newspaper. “It’s to say, ‘Shouldn’t this be subject to review?’ Especially as we’re looking at revitalization. There may be parts of the county where a big box would completely stymie our efforts to revitalize a particular area.” On May 21st, the Board of Supervisors will consider a zoning proposal that would require any retailer of 80,000 s.f. or more to apply to the county before building. The Board of Supervisors would have the legal authority to reject a store considered too large for the neighborhood, or the surrounding road network. Supervisors could ask developers for “less sprawling designs, multistory buildings, parking garages and pedestrian and transit access” before gaining a building permit.

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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, May 21 | 0 comments | Permalink

North Carolina Cherokees Debate Wal-Mart on Reservation

Cherokee contemplates Wal-Mart’s impact [Smoky Mountain News]

Some residents on the Cherokee Indian Reservation are calling for a referendum vote on whether Wal-Mart Stores should be allowed to build there.

The push for public participation comes as tribal leaders continue a series of negotiations with the retail giant, which currently has one super center in neighboring Sylva and is building another in Waynesville. If tribal leaders and Wal-Mart can iron out details, the Wal- Mart would most likely build on a tribally owned tract of land near the Cherokee Indian Hospital.

Tens of thousands of additional dollars are at stake for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: Wal-Mart, like other commercial outlets on the reservation, would be subject to a 7-percent tribal sales tax on all goods sold.

The additional revenue doesn’t settle the issue for all of the tribe’s 13,500 members, however. Some say money is simply not enough reason to risk damaging the reservation’s small-town feel, and, possibly, putting some small business owners out of business.

Principal Chief Michell Hicks said that tribal leaders anticipate releasing a statement about Wal-Mart “within weeks.”

“The new Wal-Mart would be a significant contributor to our tribal levy and a major employer for the region,” he said.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Wednesday, May 16 | 0 comments | Permalink

Blacksburg, VA. Wal-Mart Stirs Another Controversy at Virginia Tech

In the heart of the south, where no unions tread, the battle against Wal-Mart continues to rage, underneath the radar of the major media, which has been preoccupied with another local story-—the shootings at Virginia Tech. Yet the story of Blacksburg, Virginia, “the proud home of Virginia Tech,” located in the southwest part of the state, is typical of the battles that Sprawl-Busters has narrated for years in states like Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and elsewhere. For years, local citizens groups have taken up arms against the Arkansas corporation that has ripped up Dixie from one end to the other. Ironically, the General Sherman in this scorched-earth battle was a fellow southerner—Sam Walton.
In Blacksburg, residents are fighting the so-called Gables Shopping Center, a South Main development, which includes a 187,000 s.f. retail footprint. The town council last year approved a rezoning that paved the way for a 40-acre project along South Main Street. Wal-Mart denies it is their store-—but the size is a dead giveaway. At last week’s town council hearing, resident after resident stood to speak against the over-scaled plan. According to the Roanoke Times, residents have formed a group called Blacksburg United for Responsible Growth (BURG), and begun an emailing campaign and petition drive. The group is fighting the world’s largest retailer with a bake sale. Residents have also drafted a proposed zoning ordinance that would require big box retailers to seek town council approval before receiving a building permit. Blacksburg Councilman Don Langrehr proposed ordinance 1450, which would limit the size of retail buildings in town to 80,000 s.f. Larger buildings would require a special use permit issued by the town council. In April, the council voted to fast-track consideration of the ordinance and plans to vote on it May 29.

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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, May 14 | 0 comments | Permalink

Crofton, MD. Developer Pulls the Plug on Wal-Mart Supercenter

Community pressure has squeezed Wal-Mart out of another community. On April 18, 2006, Sprawl-Busters reported that Anne Arundel County, Maryland, had five Wal-Marts, but the mega-retailer proposed to build a 143,000 s.f. store roughly 6 miles from an existing store. That thought stimulated a citizen’s group, Crofton First, to try to block the latest big box assault. Wal-Mart applied to build a store on 20 acres of land. A spokesman for Wal-Mart told The Capital newspaper that the proposed store was “on the small side,” even though its nearly the size of 3 football fields under one roof. There are already two Wal-Mart stores in nearby Glen Burnie, one in Hanoverand one in Russett, plus a Sam’s Club in Parole. Wal-Mart told the newspaper that the latest store would not take sales from the Wal-Mart in Bowie, Maryland, just 6 miles to the south. “We are a retailer,” the Wal-Mart spokesperson said. “We are in the business of profit. One (store) has nothing to do with the other. It’s different communities and different needs.” Today, Sprawl-Busters received word from Crofton First that the shadow of a Wal-Mart over their community has been lifted. “We have some exciting news,” the group wrote. “Crofton First Co-Chairman, Madonna Brennan, received a phone call this afternoon from County Councilman Benoit stating that Berkshire (land owner) is ending his sale agreement with Wal-Mart and will look for a more suitable buyer.

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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, May 04 | 0 comments | Permalink

Roanoke, VA. Judge Sides With Wal-Mart In Citizen’s Appeal

On March 13, 2007, Sprawl-Busters reported that residents in Roanoke, Virginia had filed a lawsuit to stop a Wal-Mart supercenter from being built. The group “Citizens for Smart Growth Roanoke” charged that Roanoke County failed to follow their own procedures in approving the Wal-Mart at the end of October, 2006. The County Board of Supervisors rezoned land for the Wal-Mart, and then gave the project a special permit for a 41 acre piece of land. The location of the proposed superstore is just south of an existing Wal-Mart along Route 220, which will surely close if this superstore is approved. The land is located in an overlay zoning district that places restrictions on building design, landscaping, signs, and lighting. It also requires that any building larger than 50,000 s.f.
obtain a special permit. Holrob, the Tennessee developer, submitted a Wal-Mart supercenter four times greater, at over 200,000 s.f. Residents charged that the special use permit granted therefore violated the intent of the overlay district, which was to limit the size and scenic impact of retail buildings. This week, residents wrote Sprawl-Busters with the following update: “The circuit court ruled to dismiss our lawsuit. ALL the traffic now will use the one entrance/exit. Wal-Mart just assumed they could get a 2nd entrance at the upscale Landrover dealership, but they were told “NO.” We, of course, were all told 60% of the traffic would never reach the nearby school. What a joke!” According to the Roanoke Times, Judge Robert Doherty ruled that the county’s decision to allow the construction met the legal standard of being “fairly debatable,” that even if “objective and reasonable persons” had differing opinions about it, the board of supervisors’ decision was reasonable and legal.

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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, April 30 | 0 comments | Permalink

Edison, NJ. Mayor Loses Courageous Legal Battle With Wal-Mart

Jun Choi, the current Mayor of Edison, New Jersey, does not want a Wal-Mart supercenter in his township. But the agreements approved by township officials before he took office have tied his hands. Choi charged that the township violated its legal obligation when it granted Wal-Mart a building permit. But the developer sued the Mayor, saying that he unlawfully interfered with the process and should be held personally responsible for the developer’s monetary losses. When the developer’s lawsuit was filed, Choi called it “intimidation and scare tactics,” and reiterated his charge that the township Planning Board failed to comply with proper procedure in executing the developer’s agreement. “The legal basis for us not issuing the building permit is they did not properly execute the developer’s agreement back in 2005,” the Mayor told the Home News Tribune. He said the Planning Board needed approval from the Township Council to execute the document-—which it never received. According to the township’s municipal codebook, a developer’s agreement must be executed and delivered to the Township Council before on-site construction may begin. The township and the developer, Edison Route 27, entered into a developer’s agreement in December 2005. The Planning Board had granted site-plan approval a year earlier, in December 2004 for a 140,000 s.f. Wal-Mart. When he ran for office in 2005, Choi said that he opposed the Wal-Mart, blaming the incumbent Mayor at the time, George Spadoro, and the Planning Board for surreptitiously pushing the application through. “This was snuck through in the middle of the night,” Choi said during a debate in the summer of 2005. “George Spadoro’s appointments to the Planning Board did not do their jobs properly.” But thd developer said that Choi was attempting “to frustrate and thwart the project” and engaging in a “wrongful misuse of his powers.” The developer calculated that the delays were costing them $2,970 per day, or just over a million dollars a year.
The developer in its lawsuit asked the court to hold the Mayor personally responsible for those costs, and sought damages and attorney fees from Choi. This week, Judge James P. Hurley of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Middlesex County ruled against the Mayor, and ordered the city to give Wal-Mart a building permit within 20 days. “The township will comply with the judge’s order,” Mayor Jun Choi told the newspaper. “But we continue to oppose this project.” Edison Route 27 Associates has already paid the township $1 million for traffic improvements, and paid $96,000 to the township’s tree-replacement fund, a fund that generates money from developers that don’t replace trees on their sites.