NEW YORK SITE FIGHT: VILLAGE IN TROUBLE
Bath village warned of Wal-Mart impact [The Steuben (N.Y.) Courier]
BATH - A village resident whose local family business has been operating for four generations warned the Bath village board Monday a Wal- Mart superstore on state Route 54 outside village limits would have a detrimental impact on the village economy.
Scott Ward of M.J. Ward and Son advised board members to partner with the Bath town board in hiring an independent consulting firm that would assess the local economic impact of a Wal-Mart superstore.
The study, Ward added, should also address the traffic and safety impact of a 150,000- square-foot Wal-Mart, which the corporation announced it wants to build on Route 54 in the vicinity of the current Owl Homes.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, June 25 | 0 comments | Permalink
Religious Community Worries About Wal-Mart’s Influence
Fearing Wal-Mart Will Bring Too Much of the Outside In [New York Times]
It seems whenever Wal-Mart proposes a new store, controversy sprouts. Across the country, environmentalists, unions, civic associations and churches have objected to the retailer’s plans to drop anchor in their communities, citing concerns about traffic and crime, merchandise and employment policies and the overall quality of life.
But the protest of a planned 215,000-square-foot store here has a decidedly religious overtone.
When residents talk about traffic, they are fearful for the safety of families walking to synagogue on Saturdays. When they fret about merchandise, they wonder if frowned-upon items like bikinis and lingerie will be on display for everyone to see. And when they imagine the outsiders who would shop at the store, they worry that their presence could transform the town’s pious, sheltered atmosphere.
“The reason a lot of us came to live in Monsey is because we wanted to raise our families in a safe place, away from the influences of the outside world,” said Yossi Weinberger, 30, a father of four who works at a local travel agency. “I’m not sure it will be easy to do it if we have such a gigantic piece of the outside world move to our town.”
Philip H. Serghini, a public affairs manager for Wal-Mart, has visited the community of 28,000, most of them Hasidic Jews, at least six times since October. He has met in private with about two dozen rabbis to explain the company’s proposal to turn a shuttered drive-in theater on Route 59 into a retail magnet for miles around.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, June 25 | 7 comments | Permalink
PENNSYLVANIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART ON HOLD
Wal-Mart on hold in N. Huntingdon awaiting state OK [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Issues and concerns have stopped site preparation for the proposed Mills Pointe shopping plaza, which will include a 200,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Superstore, and an adjacent Huntingdon Marketplace retail center.
Work was suspended more than two months ago when Sewickley-based Sipple Development Inc. owner Doug Sipple moved his grading equipment from the site.
Mr. Sipple would not comment. He referred inquiries to DeBartolo Development offices in Tampa, Fla.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Friday, June 22 | 0 comments | Permalink
PENNSYLVANIA SITE FIGHT: TRAFFIC TROUBLES
Route 30 Wal-Mart Site Causing Major Problems In Area [WTAE TV (Pittsburgh, Pa.)]
NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa.—Construction on a Westmoreland County Wal-Mart has come to a halt because of stability issues.
Officials in North Huntingdon said they don’t want another Route 65 landslide on their hands.
It’s been more than two months since there has been any movement at the site of the Wal-Mart on Route 30.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Thursday, June 21 | 0 comments | Permalink
VERMONT SITE FIGHT: POTENTIAL WAL-MART BRINGS UP TRAFFIC WORRIES
Potential Wal-Mart traffic concern in Wells River [Journal Opinion (Vt.)]
BRADFORD, Vermont (STPNS)—WELLS RIVER–“We’re trying to stay proactive and make it work,” said Ann Tyler, Wells River Village trustee chair of Wal-Mart’s projected opening. “The major concern is about the traffic.”
In a telephone interview, Tyler told the Journal Opinion that the box store’s New Hampshire location means that Wal-Mart has no legal or technical obligations to address traffic impact on surrounding Vermont towns. In a meeting last fall that included village trustees, a Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) representative and Senior Transportation Planner Chuck Wise from the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, trustees learned that getting state help for potential traffic problems is a complicated business.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Thursday, June 21 | 0 comments | Permalink
Maine Legislature Passes Bill Requiring Economic Impact Studies for Big-Box Projects
From the Maine Fair Trade Campaign:
Augusta, ME - The Maine legislature has given its approval to a bill that requires cities and towns to evaluate the impact of large-scale retail development on jobs, local businesses, and municipal finances,
and to approve only those projects that will not adversely affect the local economy. The legislation is the first of its kind in the nation.Tuesday afternoon the Maine Senate enacted the Informed Growth Act, LD 1810, 18-17. This follows earlier passage of the bill in the House 86-55. The legislation is now headed to Governor John Baldacci’s desk where it is expected to be signed into law.
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Thursday, June 21 | 2 comments | Permalink
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.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Wednesday, June 20 | 0 comments | Permalink
PENNSYLVANIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART SITE WORK STOPPED, LAND REZONED
Developer wants Jefferson Hills land rezoned for Wal-Mart [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]
A developer’s representative told Jefferson Hills officials and residents he wants property in the borough rezoned to permit construction of a store that might be a Wal-Mart.
Bill Sittig, a representative of Waynesburg-based McHolme Development, spoke Tuesday at a joint meeting of the borough’s council and planning commission that attracted about 150 residents opposed to rezoning. Officials made no decision.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Wednesday, June 20 | 0 comments | Permalink
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