MICHIGAN SITE FIGHT: CHANGES TO WAL-MART PLAN

Wal-Mart changes plans for addition [Tri County (Mich.) Times]

Representatives for Wal-Mart want to be ready in the spring to start construction on a grocery addition.

In April, all but one Fenton Planning Commission member approved the project, and allowing the store to be open 18 hours, from 6 a.m. to midnight. A spokesman for Wal-Mart said at the time that plans included beginning construction this September.

Since the July Planning Commission meeting, representatives for Wal-Mart have made some changes in plans, working with planners for the city of Fenton and Fenton Building and Zoning Administrator Brad Hissong. These changes are above and beyond what city officials asked for, Hissong said.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, August 28 | 0 comments | Permalink

Wisconsin To Tax That Smile Right Off Of Wal-Mart’s Face

Wisconsin tax auditors say Wal-Mart Stores owes more than $17 million in back corporate income taxes, interest and penalties for 1998, 1999 and 2000.

But to hear Wal-Mart’s side of the story, a little cheating is nothing if done for the greater good, right? RIGHT?? According to Wal-Mart spokesman and legal-eagle John Simley:

“...anything Wal-Mart can do to lawfully reduce its costs allows the company to pass those savings along through lower prices.”

Awesome.

Well, while the $17+ million that Wal-Mart skipped out on could have gone to fund state schools, after-school programs, or other projects, it will be comforting for Wisconsin students to know that as a result of the scheming their Moms and Dads are now able to buy their cool new trapper-keeper for 30 cents cheaper. Plus, the notebook paper inside said trapper-keeper will come in handy as kindling, once schools run out of money and can no longer afford heat. A win-win in my book. Survivorman would be proud.

Several reports, including our own - you can find others here and here - have spelled out approximately how much Wal-Mart has cost states through the use of schemes such as captive REITs. No, they’re not illegal in EVERY state, but its a little disingenuous to proclaim to want to help your fellow man by providing “every day low prices” (Wal-Mart trademark pending?), then search out every tax break imaginable so you can stick it to John and Joan Q. Public on the other end. And please, please don’t use the “everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we?” defense. Sears and Kohls, among others, have already publically stated that they don’t use the REIT scheme, and even if they did, that wouldn’t make it right.

Anyway, bottom line: Wisconsin says Wal-Mart owes them $17.7 million. Wal-Mart says no we don’t, and if you make us pay we’ll just charge higher prices and be forced to sell even more low-cost lead-based toys then before. The WI Tax Appeals Commission will consider the matter, and then a state court will decide whether the Tax Appeals Commission considered it wrong. Stay tuned…

Wal-Mart owes back taxes, state says [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

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Posted by Corey Himrod on Monday, August 27 | 33 comments | Permalink

Sturgeon Bay, WI. City Rejects Size Cap, Wal-Mart Applies for Rezoning

The City of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin is located on the Door County peninsula approximately 45 miles northeast of Green Bay. As of 2000, the population of Sturgeon Bay was around 10,000 people. The city says its known for its “high quality of life and traditional downtown.” It also happens to have a 65,630 s.f Wal-Mart discount store on Egg Harbor Road which contributes to neither the quality of life, nor the downtown. City officials had the chance to stop a Wal-Mart superstore with a one sentence zoning ordinance amendment capping the size of buildings. But City Aldermen on August 7th voted not to adopt a size cap—even though a cap had been recommended by the city’s Plan Commission back in May of 2006. The Plan Commission also approved the idea of requiring large stores to conduct a fiscal impact study. The zoning amendment would have capped the size of retail stores at 115,000 s.f.---about the size of two football fields. The Aldermen voted 5-2 to reject the cap, which had been supported by a citizen’s group called Door County Residents for Fair Enterprise (DCRFE). While the city was considering ordinance changes, there was a moratorium on processing of big box stores. Wal-Mart let it be known that they will apply for a superstore as soon as the building moratorium is lifted on August 27th, and if the cap was defeated. “We don’t want an arbitrary size cap,” Wal-Mart said before the Alderman’s vote. “If we can get an appropriate store size, if the city has requests, we’re willing to consider anything they want.” This week, the Aldermen met and approved a fiscal impact study requirement, but dumped the cap idea. This opens the door for Wal-Mart to apply for a 184,000 s.f. superstore-—nearly three times the size of their existing store, which will close. But first, Wal-Mart must apply for an annexation, a zoning change from agricultural to commercial, and a conditional use permit-—none of which is an entitlement-—and both could be legally challenged. But there are other signficant problems ahead. The land Wal-Mart wants is not yet under their control. They are negotiating to buy property behind their current Egg Harbor Road site. If Sturgeon Bay agrees to annexation, the land would be removed from the town of Sevastopol, but their school district would get some of the tax benefits. “We need the tax revenue from Wal-Mart if we’re going to continue to pave our roads and continue city services,” a Sturgeon Bay Alderman told the Green Bay Press Gazette. “The first negotiations I would do with Wal-Mart, would be to switch where they want to put the parking lot and the building.” But Alderman Jim Michaud wishes the cap had passed. “The thing that bothers me most is that I’ve seen the devastation in many small towns by not just Wal-Mart, but other large retail centers,” Michaud told the Press Gazette. “We can’t be everything to everybody. But I want to preserve the supermarkets we have. If Wal-Mart can limit its Supercenter to general merchandise, it would limit its competition with other city retailers and maybe sway my vote.”
But Wal-Mart is probably not concerned about swaying Michaud’s vote.

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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, August 24 | 0 comments | Permalink

America’s Dairyland: Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace!

Opinion: Wal-Mart equals the death of Door County as we know it [Door County (Wisc.) Compass]

If you’ve followed this Big Box process you know there’s not been much to say lately, and no real opportunities to be heard. But ALL our voices are needed at this time: Once we’ve opened the door to large scale development along
Hwy 42, there’ll be no closing it…

I’m referring to an important meeting of the Sturgeon Bay Common Council, the next at the new City Hall. It’s your PUBLIC HEARING on the proposed zoning changes to turn 23 acres along Hwy 42 (south of Target, part of “the Hopf property") from agricultural to commercial (C-1). At that meeting the Hopf developer will present his plans for the site. After that we’ll have a chance to speak, and the town Board will vote to approve or deny this zoning change.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, August 23 | 0 comments | Permalink

A New Supercenter To Go With Your Sturgeon

Sturgeon Bay Wal-Mart one step closer to reality [Green Bay (Wisc.) Press-Gazette]

Wal-Mart is one step closer to building a supercenter in Sturgeon Bay.

The path was cleared by the city council Tuesday night when it unanimously approved changes to the big box ordinance that has been argued over for two months.

In a 7-0 vote, the ordinance will require any big box retailer to pay for fiscal and economic impact studies.

Aldermen already defeated a proposed size cap of 115,000 square feet at the first reading of ordinance changes Aug. 7.

At the second reading Tuesday, the aldermen officially approved requirements for a landscape buffer between the parking lot and street.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, August 23 | 0 comments | Permalink

Wal-Mart Snoozes, Loses In Buying Land

Wal-Mart application dead in STC [Kane County (Ill.) Chronicle]

The yearlong debate about a proposed east side Wal-Mart Supercenter has ended because the retailer lost its option to buy land for the store.

The retailer chose not to oppose city efforts to acquire the property and to divide it with a new road.

“Obviously it was, ‘Why purchase a piece of property they are going to take from us?’ ” Wal-Mart spokesman Roderick Scott said.

The city’s Plan Commission voted unanimously Tuesday night to terminate the application process for Wal-Mart.

Bob Hupp, the city’s development director, said that the vote turned down Wal-Mart’s request to rezone 30 acres northwest of Route 64 and Smith Road. The rezoning, Hupp said, was contingent on the company acquiring the land.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, August 23 | 0 comments | Permalink

Hudson, WI. Wal-Mart Sells Building Before Moving Out

Wal-Mart has a discount store in Hudson, Wisconsin, located at 2222 Crest View Drive. The local newspaper, The Star-Observer, reported this week that Wal-Mart has sold the store to another developer. The new owner of the Wal-Mart building is Meridian Hudson LLC. It appears that Wal-Mart is making plans to leave its store and build a superstore on 64 acres of land on the city’s southeast side. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart said it was giving up trying to build a superstore along Hwy. 35 on the north side of nearby River Falls. The company ran into problems getting that site annexed into the city of River Falls. Sprawl-Busters reported on December 2, 2006 that Wal-Mart was abandoning the idea of a River Falls store. So they went 8 miles away to Hudson. But to build a superstore in Hudson means closing their existing discount store. The new owner told the Star-Observer that his company has no plans for the current Wal-Mart building. “We bought the building, but that really is all there is to the story,” he said. Wal-Mart has a long-term lease on the existing store and full control over the building. “So, effectively, we’re a passive investor in the real estate,” the new owner said. The city of Hudson’s Plan Commission also has before it a petition to annex 54 acres on the east side of the city for a possible Target superstore.

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Posted by Al Norman on Thursday, August 23 | 0 comments | Permalink

Streator, IL. Everyone Else Has A Wal-Mart, Why Not Us?

The city of Streator, Illinois, has easy access to three interstates (I-55, I-80, and I-39), and according to the local Chamber of Commerce, “lower overhead, and an able workforce.” The city boasts that K-Mart and Kroger “have all thrived” in their small community. The city had a population of around 14,190 in the 2000 census. They also have a Wal-Mart supercenter knocking on the door. According to The Ottawa Times newspaper, Wal-Mart submitted plans in February for a 156,400 s.f. superstore on Route 23, but the company recently submitted slightly smaller plans, around 152,000 sf. They slightly increased the size of the parking lot to 758 spaces. The store is similar to the Wal-Mart supercenter in Ottawa, Illinois, some 18 miles away. In fact, Streator shoppers have four Wal-Mart supercenters within 30 miles, in Ottawa, Pontiac, Peru and Morris, Illinois. Wal-Mart has told local officials that this supercenter, which will have a brick façade, will have 35 features promoting energy sustainability, such as large roof skylights and sensor lighting in the refrigeration sections of the store. The store itself, designed on a single level, is energy inefficient, and environmentally wasteful. The project is expected to come before the city’s Plan Commission on September 11th, and then to the City Council on September 19th. Obviously, the skids have been greased in Streator, and Wal-Mart says they could start building the store within six to nine months after its site plan is approved. The construction of this supercenter will almost assuredly cause the closure of the city’s Kmart store, and could have an adverse impact on local grocers as well.