American Canyon, CA. Judge Keeps Wal-Mart Construction On Ice
Despite the heat of controversy over a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter in American Canyon, California, the construction site has been on ice for the past four months. No more walls going up, no more nails being pounded.
Sprawl-Busters reported on November 21, 2006 that Wal-Mart was stunned by a court ruling in a superstore project in American Canyon, where local officials tripped over their own enthusiasm for the giant retail project known as Napa Junction. Construction on the superstore was well underway, the state Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned an earlier decision by the Napa Superior Court, which had ruled against two citizen groups in their efforts to block Wal-Mart. In a 37 page decision, Justice Linda Gemello found that the “city prejudicially violated the California Environmental Quality Act…(and) prejudically violated its zoning ordinance.” Now, four months later, Wal-Mart’s construction is still in limbo. According to the Vallejo Times Herald, a judge in Napa County Superior Court ruled March 22nd that Wal-Mart cannot return to constructing its superstore, but he refused to void the permits that the city has already granted for the project. Judge Raymond Guadagni----who is the same judge that the First District Court of Appeal ordered to reconsider the case---said that he lacked authority to require Wal-Mart to start from scratch on its permits. Yet Guadagni earlier in the same week had ordered some of the city’s permits to be voided. The judge also ruled that American Canyon has to address the issues raised by the Court of Appeals within two months. But city officials indicated that even though the judge did not throw out the building permit for the store, the city will vote to approve them again, as “the safe thing to do.” A Wal-Mart public relations spokesman told the Times Herald, “We are confident the city is complying with the direction of the court and we continue to hear from our customers and supporters that they are anxious for the project to move forward.” Residents of American Canyon were supposed to have their cheap chinese products by late January, so the citizen’s appeal has kept the shoppers at bay for nearly two months. American Canyon Community United for Responsible Growth and Citizens Against Poor Planning both forced the issue into the courts---just as Wal-Mart would have done if its permits had been denied. Work on the Wal-Mart project has not taken place since November---not because of what the citizens’ groups did---but because the city violated state environmental laws and city zoning ordinances when it approved the store. The Appeal Court ruled that the size of the store had not been accurately represented and its impacts on traffic and the local economy had not been adequately studied.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, March 26 | 0 comments | Permalink
Folsom, CA. Wal-Mart Abandons Its Superstore Plan
On July 20, 2006, Sprawl-Busters reported that a group called the Concerned Citizens of Folsom had organized to stop a proposed 208,412 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter on 25 acres of land off of Iron Point Road in Folsom, California. The company already has an existing Wal-Mart discount store in the city, which it is also trying to expand. This week, a local activist sent out this short note to her anti-Wal-Mart email list: “Great news, everyone! Wal Mart has officially withdrawn their application for the Iron Point Store. Additionally, the City is requiring that the proposed Wal Mart Supercenter undergoes an Environmental Impact Review for the expansion.” The Folsom Telegraph confirmed the news this week, reporting that Folsom would remain a “one Wal-Mart town.” The news ended almost a one year battle to stop the superstore. In April, 2006, the retailer announced its intention to build a second store in Folsom---but now the company has pulled its superstore plans as of March 21, 2007, with no explanation. Instead, company officials indicate they will focus on converting its existing discount store into a supercenter by addilng 26,000 s.f. to the back of the store, allowing the interior square footage to include a full line grocery department. The expanded Folsom store would be a total of 153,678 s.f. The existing discount store was only built in 1992---but Wal-Mart has shut down hundreds of discount stores of that vintage to make way for their larger, more profitable superstores. A city spokeswoman said the permit process, including an Environmental Impact Report, could take nine to 12 months to complete.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, March 26 | 0 comments | Permalink
Northeast News Update: March 23, 2007
PENNSYLVANIA SITE FIGHT: INTERESTED, IF…
Neville interested if Wal-Mart leaves Kilbuck [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
If Wal-Mart officials abandon plans for a store on a landslide-prone plateau above Route 65 in Kilbuck, township officials on Neville Island say they have an industrial site that would be ideal for development.
PENNSYLVANIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART LAWYERS ENTER THE FRAY
Wal-Mart claims 2 on board biased [Patriot News (Penn.)]
Wal-Mart attorneys argued yesterday that two members of the North Cornwall Twp. zoning hearing board are biased against the retail giant and should not decide the merits of a zoning change that cleared the way for a store on Cornwall Road.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, March 23 | 0 comments | Permalink
Midwest News Update: March 23, 2007
ILLINOIS SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART DEBATED
N. Aurora Wal-Mart debated [Kane County (Ill.) Chronicle]
Wal-Mart officials told village trustees Monday that switching the layout of a proposed building would create more noise for nearby residents.
INDIANA SITE FIGHT: NO SUPER WAL-MART ON SITE
Project shift means no Super Wal-Mart on site [NWI Times]
Although plans to open a Super Wal-Mart on the southeast corner of U.S. 41 and Main Street have been scrapped, that doesn’t mean the national retailer has turned its back on locating somewhere in south Lake County.
ILLINOIS SITE FIGHT: TOWN OK’S WAL-MART STORE DESPITE PROTESTS
Commission gives Wal-Mart green light [Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer]
Despite the objections of the people who filled the Council Chamber to overflowing, the Glen Carbon Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-1 Tuesday to approve THF’s site plan for the expansion of the Glen Carbon Wal-Mart store into a super center.
MISSOURI SITE FIGHT: OPPOSITION CONTINUES
Opposition to Wal-Mart expansion continues [Suburban Journals]
Local residents continue to voice opposition to the expansion of the Glen Carbon Wal-Mart into a Wal-Mart SuperCenter.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, March 23 | 0 comments | Permalink
Western News Updates: March 23, 2007
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART READY TO ARGUE
Wal-Mart ready to argue it belongs in AmCan [Napa Valley (Calif.) Register]
Four months after a court blocked construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in American Canyon, lawyers for the retail giant say they have done the necessary studies to comply with the law. A public review of the studies, however, is being postponed.
HAWAII SITE FIGHT: SUPER WAL-MART PLANNED
‘Super’ Wal-Mart planned in Hilo [Honolulu Advertiser]
Wal-Mart is planning an ambitious expansion into grocery sales on the Big Island by building a new “supercenter” store with a full line of groceries on a vacant lot behind the company’s existing store.
Click here to visit Battle-Mart, Wal-Mart Watch’s online guide to fighting Wal-Mart in your community.
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: STOCKTON MOVES TO BAN SUPERSTORES
Stockton vote not super for Wal-Mart [Stockton (Calif.) Record]
A measure to outlaw new superstores was pushed forward by the City Council late Tuesday, despite opposition from Wal-Mart and from employees bused from its Hammer Lane store to City Hall.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, March 23 | 0 comments | Permalink
Manatee County, FL: Making Bad Traffic Worse
Manatee County reviews new Wal-Mart expansion plans [Southwest Florida Herald-Tribune]
A Wal-Mart Supercenter proposed for the intersection of University Parkway and Lockwood Ridge Road may make a bad traffic situation even worse, Manatee County commissioners said Tuesday.
“I think we’re cramming too much in this shopping center,” Commissioner Joe McClash said. “I mean this is one of the worst intersections in the county.”
Wal-Mart wants to expand the size of its existing 113,400-square-foot store on the site by 21,713 square feet to provide it with a new facade and to add a grocery store.
The discussion Tuesday was part of a land use preview, during which commissioners got their first look at the expansion plans. A vote to approve or deny the plans will come at a later date.
A traffic study that would show the impact of the expansion has not yet been completed. But the store sits on a 30-acre site along University Parkway, which is already considered overwhelmed by traffic.
“We just can’t add any more traffic there,” said Commissioner Donna Hayes.
The proposed expansion follows a failed bid by the company to relocate to a vacant site northwest of University Parkway and Honore Avenue.
That plan fell through after receiving strong opposition from the county.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, March 23 | 0 comments | Permalink
Atlantic Regional Updates - March 23, 2007
NORTH CAROLINA: TAX TOO HIGH AT LOCAL WAL-MART
Tax was too high at area’s new Wal-Mart [Southeastern North Carolina Star-News]
Wal-Mart shoppers, take out your receipts. The mega-chain might owe you some money...Hudkins said he called the store that night and an employee told him the staff had looked into the issue earlier in the day and determined it was just a display problem, that the cash registers were calculating correctly. But his receipt showed otherwise, and he went back to the store Saturday morning.
MARYLAND SITE FIGHT: STORE OPENING POSTPONED
Wal-Mart Postpones Store Opening in Md. [Washington Post]
Wal-Mart postponed today’s anticipated opening of its first store inside the Capital Beltway because of last-minute permit problems, the company said yesterday.
The store was scheduled to open this morning, complete with a ribbon-cutting and news conference to be attended by high-level executives from Wal-Mart and several local officials. A new date has not been set.
MARYLAND PROTESTORS PLAN TO GIVE WAL-MART A COLD WELCOME
Community, Labor, Faith-Based Leaders to ‘Welcome’ Wal-Mart to Prince George’s County [PR Newswire]
A broad-based group of Prince George’s County community leaders, union members, clergy and members of area congregations will hold a press conference to “welcome” a newly-opening Wal-Mart to the Capital Plaza Mall and urge the world’s largest retailer to become a responsible, community-minded corporate citizen.
They will call on Wal-Mart to provide its workers with health benefits, stop burdening Maryland taxpayers with $27 million in the cost of providing care to the company’s employees, and
stop burdening Prince George’s County Hospital Center with the cost of uncompensated care.
MARYLAND SITE FIGHT: STORE OPENING POSTPONED
Wal-Mart delays opening of Prince George’s store [Baltimore Business Journal]
Wal-Mart’s first store inside the Washington Beltway will open a bit later than expected.
Officials with Wal-Mart are still working out permitting issues for the 144,000-square-foot store, which was slated to open Wednesday. The new store is expected to employ about 330 people.
MARYLAND SITE FIGHT: STORE OPENS QUIETLY
Without Fanfare, Wal-Mart Opens in Landover Hills [Washington Post]
Wal-Mart quietly opened its first store inside the Beltway yesterday after permit problems forced the retailer to cancel a grand-opening celebration earlier in the week.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, March 23 | 0 comments | Permalink
Southwest News Updates - March 23, 2007
TEXAS SITE FIGHT: TALKS ON NEW STORE
Wal-Mart: Talks focus on new store [Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times]
What Wal-Mart and the owners of Parkdale Plaza won’t say can be found on the Web site of Quick & Company Commercial Realty Inc.
UTAH SITE FIGHT: TOWN AT IMPASSE
Cedar Hills postpones decision on Wal-Mart [Daily Herald (Provo, Utah)]
Wal-Mart in Cedar Hills has been delayed.
Just after midnight Wednesday morning, after listening to hours of expert testimony about the amount of noise and traffic a proposed Wal-Mart would generate, arguments broke out among Cedar Hills Council members. At 12:43 a.m., they voted to continue their discussion in two weeks.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, March 23 | 0 comments | Permalink
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