North Lauderdale, FL. No One Wants To Be Wal-Mart’s Neighbor
The next step for Wal-Mart may be to place an ad on e-harmony, looking for someone compatible. Until then, the retail giant has told city officials in North Lauderdale, Florida, that no one wants to be their neighbor.
Wal-Mart claims that they have had no luck in locating any tenants who want to move into their shopping center at the 43 acre former U-Pick farm on McNab Road. But the company is not blaming it’s own reputation as a retail killer---it’s saying the neighborhood isn’t very attractive.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, city officials were not too pleased to hear Wal-Mart say “nobody wants to come to North Lauderdale, and we’ve tried everything we can.” Wal-Mart was supposed to serve as the anchor retailer in a “Town Center” destination site---which is a bad concept to begin with. Any community that places Wal-Mart as its town center, has no center, and no vision. The Town Center was supposed to have a 208,000 s.f. Wal-Mart superstore, plus an 80 room hotel to look out onto the big box, restaurants, and another 36,000 s.f. of retailers. The city says Wal-Mart signed an agreement that placed the burden on the retailer to find tenants to round out the project. According to the website promoting this development, “The Commons at North Lauderdale featuring a 208,000 square foot Wal-Mart Supercenter has been uniquely designed with a main boulevard entrance flanked by extensive landscaping with towering palms and nine (9) freestanding restaurant and retail buildings.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, August 13 | 0 comments | Permalink
Prichard, AL. Mayor Says Wal-Mart Thumbs Its Nose At His City
Prichard, Alabama is getting a bad rap, and Wal-Mart is only making things worse. According to a wikipedia entry for the city, Prichard (pop. 28,633) “is an impoverished city which has been in a state of decline since the mid-60s, it has been riddled with financial problems, Alabama’s highest continuous per capita crime rate, and a population which has been fleeing for the last 40 years.” In 1960, Prichard had a population of 47,371, making it Alabama’s largest suburb. By 1970, the population had dropped to 41,000, and by 1990 it stood at 34,000. The 1980’s downtown vacancy rate was around 80%, but by 2000, it had dropped to 30%. Perhaps all those vacanies are what prompted Mayor Ron Davis to try to “pitch” his city to Wal-Mart. “Prichard is a communithy of great pride,” the Mayor says on his city’s website, “with a rich and wonderful history encompassing a love of America’s favorite pastime, baseball.” The Mayor also boasts of the community’s “signature shopping venues.” But he hasn’t been able to get Wal-Mart to sign on the line. This week the Mayor told The Alabama Press-Register that 1,000 people in Prichard—about 3.5% of the population—had signed petitions saying Wal-Mart is welcome in their city.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, August 13 | 0 comments | Permalink
KENTUCKY SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART OPPONENTS PROTEST
Opponents Protest New Florence Wal-Mart [WXIX-TV (Ohio)]
(BURLINGTON, KY)—They showed up last night to protest at the meeting of the zoning board.
People wanted to hear what the board would have to say about Wal-mart’s proposal to build another store on Weaver road and U.S. 42, making it the second one in Florence.
But the Boone County Zoning Commission did not make a decision.
Those who don’t like the idea say their number one problem with the site is traffic, which is already heavy in that area and the store would only add to the problem.
“I don’t want to see the smaller business leave town the traffic is going to be even more horrendous then it already is,” said Linda Holdbrook, a Boone County resident.
Wal-Mart plans to spend $1.5 million on traffic improvement for the area.
If the zoning commission approves the building the Wal-mart could be open in 2009.
Posted by Beth Gostanian on Tuesday, August 07 | 0 comments | Permalink
FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: MARY ESTHER WINS ROUND ONE
Wal-Mart loses [WJHG-7 (Fla.)]
Council members listened as the hometown folks let their feelings be known.
“Putting a Wal-Mart there is a very bad idea.”
“I don’t think there are many developers who would devote 10 percent of their property as a buffer.
“City’s grow, it’s inevitable. Others may not be as responsible as Wal-Mart.”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a motel, a car lot, a funeral home or whatever; nothing generates traffic like Wal-Mart.”
And an increase in traffic had residents concerned about safety.
“It kind of scares me to think of my students being injured possibly killed going back and forth across the street.”
“We believe that rezoning is not a property right it’s a modification executed at the discretion of the citizens of a community.”
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Thursday, August 02 | 0 comments | Permalink
Mary Esther, FL. City Council Slam Dunks Wal-Mart Superstore
On July 15, 2007, Sprawl-Busters reported that residents in Mary Esther, Florida had effectively organized to block the rezoning of land for a Wal-Mart supercenter. Residents pointed out that there is a larger Wal-Mart located just 2.3 miles away, and Wal-Mart abandoned a store located just 1.2 miles from the proposed site about 7 years ago.
Wal-Mart approached the city manager about the possibility of citing a new super-store on a 10.6 acre piece of property that straddles both Mary Esther (residential zoning) and Ft. Walton Beach (commercial zoning). City officials allowed Wal-Mart to use city chambers to present their proposal to groups of residents. Quietly Wal-Mart held the first meeting with only a few residents on Kingston Court, who backed up to the property. The residents began a petition drive designed to fight not only this proposal, but any that did not fit the current zoning of the parcel. They asked people to write letters to the editor, researched the city’s comprehensive plan, ordinances, and land use plan. They wrote a Citizen Opposition Report and a power-point presentation in response to both the city report and the Wal-Mart proposal. At the hearing, they had people stationed at the doors offering large red plastic plates to people to write NO on and sign their names and carry into the hearing. They based their zoning argument on the issue of property rights. Yes, the current owners have a right to develop their property, they argued, but not at the expense of their neighbor’s quality of life or property values. The Mary Esther parcel is zoned for single-family residential use only - five units per acre, not town homes, not condominiums, and certainly not commercial businesses. The Local Planning Agency proceeded to vote 5-0 against the rezoning. But the final vote had to go to the City Council, which voted this week, unanimously also, against rezoning for Wal-Mart. “I find it incompatible with the surrounding properties,” said Councilman George Crews, who added the proposed 24-hour store was at odds with the bedroom community of Mary Esther. Council members said the city founders created a commercial district in the center of town.
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Posted by Al Norman on Thursday, August 02 | 0 comments | Permalink
FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: MARY ESTHER DENIES REZONING FOR WAL-MART
Mary Esther denies rezoning for Wal-Mart [Northwest Florida Daily News]
MARY ESTHER — Wal-Mart thinks it has found the perfect place for a Supercenter. Too bad the City Council doesn’t agree.
The property eyed by Wal-Mart should stay residential, the council decided by unanimous vote Tuesday.
Wal-Mart was looking for a land use and zoning change to build a store near the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and Wright Parkway.
However, the council didn’t think a business belongs there.
“I find it incompatible with the surrounding properties,” said Councilman George Crews, who added the proposed 24-hour store was at odds with the bedroom community of Mary Esther.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Wednesday, August 01 | 0 comments | Permalink
FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: GETTING READY TO VOTE
Mary Esther City Council to vote on Wal-Mart Tuesday night [Southwest Florida Daily News]
MARY ESTHER — Where there’s a will, there’s a Wal-Mart — at least the company hopes so.
Wal-Mart representatives are hoping perseverance pays off and they can change the minds of Mary Esther’s elected officials during a meeting Tuesday.
Meanwhile, opponents hope to finish what they started and keep the retail giant out of city limits.
The meeting will be at First Baptist Church of Mary Esther at 6:30 p.m.
An unanimous vote earlier this month by the city’s Local Planning Agency set a grim tone for the store’s chances.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Tuesday, July 31 | 0 comments | Permalink
FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: PROPOSED WAL-MART STALLS
Proposed Bonita Wal-Mart stalls [(Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press]
Bonita Springs’ first Wal-Mart could be in jeopardy because of traffic concerns, the latest in a list of delays for the project that’s been two years in the making.
“There’s a general problem with traffic out in that area,” City Manager Gary Price said.
The Roberts Group, an Atlanta-based developer behind the 68-acre project, is proposing nearly 400,000 square feet of retail shops and office space, including Wal-Mart, for the northwest corner of Bonita Beach Road and Bonita Grande Drive, near the busy Interstate 75 interchange.
“There’s just not enough capacity to accommodate them without seriously compromising the quality of life,” Mosehn Salehi, Bonita’s transpiration consultant, said.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, July 30 | 0 comments | Permalink
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