Ellenville, NY. Wal-Mart Wants This Cute Little Town Of 4,000 People
The village of Ellenville, New York describes itself as a “cute little town,” and “one of the most beautiful, up and coming communities in the area.” This little community in the Catskills has three very big Wal-Mart supercenters within 21 miles, in Monticello, Middletown and Newburgh. The census count in Ellenville in 2006 was 3,926---a loss of 317 people since 1990. It’s doubtful that those 317 people left the village of Ellenville to move closer to a Wal-Mart---but for the people who remain, their cute little town is going to be turned on its head by a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter.
According to the Times Herald-Record, Wal-Mart has signed a contract to buy an existing shopping center called the Napanoch Valley Mall. The potential sale of the 20 acre property was announced by the village Mayor, Jeff Kaplan---who also happens to be the lawyer for the owner of the mall. Wal-Mart has put up $250,000 in an escrow account to hold the $5.5 million property. “There is a signed contract, but there are contingencies that we are finalizing,” the Mayor/Lawyer told the newspaper. “We anticipate resolution shortly.” Some people in the village are reacting as if a retail Elvis had come to town. “Everybody knows who it is, but you don’t really know,” winked Wawarsing Supervisor Edward Jennings. It is the town of Wawarsing which will permit the project, not the village. “They haven’t even been before the Planning Board yet,” Jennings said.
Wal-Mart, as ususal, played a word game by telling the media that the retailer does not “have any announced plans for Napanoch.” The Mayor/Lawyer, who clearly has known about the project for months, if not years, said, “This has been a lengthy process, but there is clearly more activity as of late than there was previously. We anticipate that it will be fast-tracked in the near future.” The Napanoch Mall lost its steam when its two main anchors, Ames and Grand Union, succumbed to competition for the Wal-Mart fleet of stores in the area. Several small business remain at the Mall, but if Wal-Mart builds there, it will be like the killer driving off in the victim’s car.
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Posted by Al Norman on Wednesday, July 16 | 0 comments | Permalink
Pennsville, N.J. Wal-Mart’s Assault On Wildlife Refuge Is Over
On May 11, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that a coalition of labor, neighbors, and environmental groups had won an important victory over Wal-Mart and sprawl development in New Jersey. That victory was validated this week when a Wal-Mart developer sent the town of Pennsville, New Jersey a one sentence letter which read: “Please be advised that the applicant is hereby withdrawing the above referenced application.”
On January 25, 2006, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart Realty had chosen a site to construct a 220,000 s.f. superstore abutting the 2,800 acre Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. This turned out to be not only an environmental blunder, but a public relations disaster for the retailer. The company is spending millions to look ‘green’ to the public.
Part of Supawna Refuge is designated by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Endangered and Non-Game Species Program as a bald eagle and raptor foraging area. The Planning Board in Pennsville had no qualms about allowing Wal-Mart into the Refuge, but that’s when the retailer ran into a legal swamp. A group called COPAS, the Citizens of Pennsville Against Sprawl, fought the project on environmental and traffic issues, among others. Residents said one Wal-Mart in Pennsville, was one more than enough. The existing discount store in the township is 1/4 mile away, and would have been shut down if the supercenter were ever built. Wal-Mart wanted to build on the Sinnickson farm, 77 acres of land that includes a salt marsh, meadows, and open fields. The superstore footprint alone was 4.6 football fields in size, plus a 1,400 car parking lot.
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Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, July 15 | 0 comments | Permalink
Suisun City, CA. Anti-Wal-Mart Effort Turns Into Civil Rights Recall Lawsuit
A free market battle over a Wal-Mart supercenter has turned into a free speech battle instead. On November 11, 2007 Sprawl-Busters wrote that the Solano County, California Airport Land Use Commission had ruled that a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter along the flight path of Travis Air Force Base would pose a safety threat to shoppers. By a 5-2 vote, the commission decided that the 230,000 s.f. Wal-Mart, with gas station, was “inconsistent” with the Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan for “safety” reasons. Commission chair John Foster said the county’s assertion that the Wal-Mart project would be within the safety limits allowed by the air base plan was wrong, and said the “risk” to residents was too great to approve the project inside the air base’s “safety buffer zone.”
But roughly three months later, on February 12, 2008, Wal-Mart got another chance to fly. In a unanimous decision, the Suisun City Council voted to overturn the Solano Airport Land Use Commission, and approve the Wal-Mart Supercenter. That controversial vote clearly was worked out before the meeting, because on the Council’s agenda was Resolution 2008-13 to override the Airport Commission. Because of concerns about Wal-Mart building stores, and then leaving them, the Council got Wal-Mart to agree to pay the city at least $300,000 to cover the costs of demolishing the building, although the city might find other uses for the structure. The demolition agreement says that if the store closes and goes dark for 36 months, Wal-Mart will demolish the building or give the city payment for demolishing it. “That agreement is designed to ease fears about future blight,” a city official noted. Opponents of the plan, the Suisun Alliance, told the media right after the City Council vote that they were considering litigation against the City Commission, and a recall effort against the five individual members of the Council, including the Mayor.
On March 31, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Suisun Alliance had followed through on their intentions, and had filed a lawsuit against Suisun City, charging that the city violated the California Environmental Quality Act when approving a Wal-Mart Supercenter. The case will be heard in Solano County Superior Court by Judge Paul Beeman. The Suisun Alliance, said the lawsuit is likely to take months before being heard. The suit claims the city ignored the CEQA in environmental documents and failed to address, evaluate and mitigate several impacts on the site. The Suisun Alliance says the project violates the Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan, fails to consider a jet-fuel pipeline in the area, and fails to consider the potential for urban decay directly caused by two Wal-Mart stores in the area.
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Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, July 15 | 0 comments | Permalink
North Whitehall, PA. Supervisors Take Key Vote This Week On Wal-Mart Superstore
This Wednesday, July 16th, supervisors in North Whitehall township, Pennsylvania will take a big vote on a big problem. On September 25, 2007, Sprawl-Busters reported that the tiny township of North Whitehall, Pennsylvania--population roughly 2,000-- had a big problem: A Wal-Mart supercenter. North Whitehall already has 7 Wal-Mart stores within 20 miles, including three supercenters, with a supercenter in Whitehall a mere 7 miles away. In its continuing drive to saturate the area, Wal-Mart has proposed a 176,846-s.f. superstore on 32.6 acres at Route 309 and Levans Road.
In early October, 2007, the township supervisors, chaired by Ron Stahley, held an afternoon meeting for residents to express their concerns about the massive Wal-Mart project---which will be the largest retail building in the history of this community. About 20 opponents of the project showed up to voice their concerns over the superstore. North Whitehall describes itself as being ‘’Primarily agricultural in nature…a desirable place to live and continues to do so by retaining its unique blend of residential and rural character.’’
Residents opposed to Wal-Mart formed a group called North Whitehall for Sustainable Development (NWSD). This volunteer organization is dedicated to promoting responsible development that conserves natural resources and ecological balance, while providing for the needs of residents in and around North Whitehall. The organization has been working to prevent the construction of this big box store adjacent to the Schnecksville Fire Company. Residents’ opposition to the project is based on traffic safety; air, water, noise and light pollution; and loss of open space. The Planning Commission began reviewing the plans in September of 2007---ten months ago. The case took a bizarre twist in March of 2008, when Wal-Mart’s public plans suddenly turned private. When the resident’s group went to the township for a copy of Wal-Mart’s filings, the township’s lawyer informed residents that they could not make copies, or remove from the township offices. According to North Whitehall’s attorney, Wal-Mart’s plans were “copyrighted, and it would be up to the developers to decide it they want to provide copies to the public.”
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Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, July 15 | 0 comments | Permalink
Cordova, TN. City Board Overturns Its Planners, Votes To OK Superstore
On July 8th, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart had shrunk the size of its proposed superstore, cut down the parking lot, and even offered to pay for road improvements---all to woo support in Cordova, Tennessee.
In January of 2008, Wal-Mart announced that it wanted to build a supercenter in plan Cordova---a community located on the northeast side of the City of Memphis with a population of roughly 53,000 people. A relatively low-profile community, the Cordova area experienced major retail growth during the 1990s, with the development of the Wolfchase Galleria mall, which was the largest retail center in the county outside of Memphis. When Wal-Mart’s plans became known in Cordova, a non-profit group, the Gray’s Creek Association (GCA), began putting up signs along a large area of unincorporated land that read: “Gray’s Creek Preservation Area.” The group pushed for smart growth development in Cordova---not Wal-Marts.
The area is already saturated with Wal-Marts. A total of 14 Wal-Mart stores are located within 20 miles of Cordova, including a Wal-Mart supercenter on Germantown Parkway just minutes away, and a supercenter in Bartlett 4 miles away. In fact, 8 of the 14 Wal-Marts within 20 miles of Cordova are supercenters. There is no conceivable market need for additional Wal-Marts. The location of Wal-Mart’s latest proposal along Macon and Houston Levee roads, is located on land within the Gray’s Creek Plan, a set of guidelines that Memphis and Shelby County adopted to preserve the area’s property values and to protect it from intense commercial growth.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, July 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
Medford, OR. Wal-Mart Returns With A “Woodsy Mountain Lodge” Superstore
No one has ever compared a Wal-Mart supercenter to a “woodsy mountain lodge”---but that’s how one newspaper described Wal-Mart’s makeover plans for a proposed supercenter in Medford, Oregon.
On April 26, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that despite the fact that Wal-Mart already had a discount store in Medford on Crater Lake Highway, the company wanted to build a much larger superstore in the city--and shut down their discount store. But more than four years after applying for the supercenter, Wal-Mart still hasn’t crawled out of the hole they dug for themselves. On May 22, 2004, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Medford, Oregon City Council had voted 5-1 to overturn an advisory commission’s recommendation, and rejected the proposal to build a 206,500 s.f. Wal-Mart Supercenter on the south end of the city. The Medford Council voted to reverse its Site Plan and Architectural Commission’s decision to approve the Wal-Mart. “It is not compatible with the surrounding area,” said Councilwoman Claudette Moore at the time. But in 2006, the City Council voted to approve the project. In November of 2006, voters in Medford removed from the City Council a developer-friendly incumbent.
Citizens reported in January of 2007 that appeals had been raised to the State Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) twice throughout the course of application, and that the LUBA had ruled for the citizens and against the City of Medford, citing procedural errors regarding a full traffic study. The “procedural error” took place in November of 2005, when the City council denied the opposition group, the Medford Citizens for Responsible Development (MCRD), the chance to testify on the comprehensive traffic study. The LUBA ruled in September of 2007 that the city had erred, and the City Council said it would not appeal the LUBA’s decision. “I think the land use process is a complicated process, a bunch of hoops and hurdles you have to jump through. Its set up to give all the protections in the world to protect both the property owners and the neighboring property owners and do things right,” Medford city councilman, Jason Anderson, said at the time. “The reason the city didn’t allow [residents] to speak was based on city attorney’s advice they weren’t the ones who appealed a previous hearing---they lacked standing.”
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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, July 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
Moon, PA. Supervisors Flip-Flop To Vote For Wal-Mart
Township Supervisors in Moon, Pennsylvania took one giant step for mankind---and then they reversed it. The supervisors voted 3-2 against a Wal-Mart preliminary plan for a superstore on July 3rd. But seven days later, at a hastily called meeting on July 10th, they reversed their vote to 4-1 in favor of the plan. According to the Pittsburg Tribune-Review, two of the supervisors who voted against the plan had “misgivings about the legality of their vote.” All Wal-Mart had to do in Moon was threaten to throw its legal weight around, and the supervisors backed down.
Roughly one month ago, on June 12, 2008, Sprawl-Busters visited Moon. We spent an evening helping residents of Moon township, Pennsylvania, get organized, and form the group Moon First, to do battle against a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter. Wal-Mart has applied to build a 148,561 s.f. superstore on the site of an abandoned 1960s-era mall known as the West Hills Shopping Center, located on one of the community’s major intersections, University Boulevard and Brodhead road.
There are also two major housing developments abutting the project on its western side. “We are working toward our No 1 goal,” Supervisor Chairman Tim McLaughlin told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette in June. “To have the best Wal-Mart in Western Pennsylvania.” There’s lots of competition, because Wal-Mart has 15 stores within 25 miles of Moon, including a Wal-Mart three miles away from this site. Township officials developed a plan that would maintain the University Boulevard corridor’s commercial success.
That plan was the Beers School Road Strategic Plan, which included a conceptual design for improvements to University Boulevard to improve traffic flow, enhance pedestrian access and mobility and develop streetscape improvements. The plan recommended implementing urban design changes to the corridor such as landscaping, sidewalks, building facades, public amenities and a gateway. The plan was presented and approved by the Moon Township Board of Supervisors in 2003. The township went further, and created the University Boulevard Overlay district, a tool to implement their strategic plan for the area. Then Wal-Mart entered the picture, and the strategic plan went out the window.
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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, July 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
Spooner,WI. Wal-Mart Asks County For 40 Year No-Compete Clause
Wal-Mart, the supposed icon of the free market, wants a County board in Wisconsin to prevent public land surrounding its proposed store from being sold to Wal-Mart competitors for 40 years. That’s just one of the problems associated with this mercurial proposal from the giant retailer.
On May 15, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported on the off-and-on effort by Wal-Mart to build a 153,000 s.f. superstore in Spooner, Wisconsin on 35 acres of county land. This project has been in the works for three years. Spooner calls itself “the perfect Up North town.” “We are surrounded by woods, lakes, rivers and friendly people,” the city’s website says. “With a population of around 2700, Spooner is perfect for a family vacation, a fishing expedition, a permanent residence or a second home.” But local residents worry that Spooner will be surrounded by more than just “woods, lakes, rivers and friendly people.”
On January 18, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that a Wal-Mart supercenter project in Spooner, Wisconsin was on hold. “There is nothing yet to report on the status of the project on Spooner,” a Wal-Mart senior manager of public affairs said in an e-mail to Spooner Mayor Louie Villella. “While no decision has been made regarding the Spooner project, I feel it’s important you know what’s driving these decisions, and that you know these decisions are shaped by Wal-Mart’s desire for a responsible and managed growth strategy. Again, there is nothing yet to report on the status of the project in Spooner, but my colleagues at Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville expect this project to be reviewed in the coming weeks. I will of course keep you informed.”
Wal-Mart admitted that the Spooner Supercenter was in a “holding pattern” while the company tried to “manage our growth to insure the long-term success.” After roughly four months in limbo, Wal-Mart announced in April that under new “business parameters,” the supercenter project would proceed---on a smaller scale than originally proposed. The Washburn County Register reported that residents asked that the city council slow the process down and prepare a developer’s agreement carefully. One resident warned the Council that officials in Rice Lake, Wisconsin regretted that they had not conducted more research when they accepted a Wal-Mart Supercenter---which caused their “smaller” Wal-Mart store to sit empty at a $200,000 liability. Another resident recommended an “advisory referendum” to see how many citizens wanted Wal-Mart in town.
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Posted by Al Norman on Thursday, July 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
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