ARKANSAS SITE FIGHT: POSSIBLE REZONING FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET
Council to consider rezoning for I Street Neighborhood Market [Northwest Arkansas News]
BENTONVILLE — A rezoning request for a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in southwest Bentonville tops the list of items to be discussed at the Bentonville City Council’s next meeting Tuesday night.
Stephen L. Giles has requested a rezoning from agricultural (A-1 ) to general commercial (C-2 ) for 5. 66 acres located at the intersection of Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard (Arkansas Highway 12 ) and Southwest I Street.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, June 25 | 0 comments | Permalink
FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: WE LIKE OUR TREES
Wal-Mart tree plan stirs furor [Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal]
DAYTONA BEACH—When a major retailer builds a 160,000-square-foot building, throws in 769 parking spaces and 16 car corrals, a loss of trees is expected.
But members of a neighborhood group say the new Wal-Mart planned for Nova Road, between Madison and Mason avenues, is going too far. Preliminary site plans for the Supercenter show the company plans to save 11 of 244 historic and “specimen” trees, including old oaks, pines and even a cypress tree or two that have trunk diameters of 12 inches or more.
However, Wal-Mart officials say the plans don’t tell the entire story—they are discussing with city officials plans to replant 867 trees on the site, including partly grown live oaks, crepe myrtles and others.
“Clearly, there are some beautiful live oaks on this property that will have to be removed for us to move forward,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Quenta Vettel said. “We are proposing in that mitigation plan to put in some beautiful trees.”
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, June 25 | 0 comments | Permalink
Disabled Veteran denied wheelchair at North Carolina Wal-Mart
Disabled Man Denied Access to Wal-Mart’s Electric Wheelchair [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
A disabled veteran from Halifax County said he was twice denied access to an electronic wheelchair at a Wal-Mart in Roanoke Rapids recently.
Thomas Young lost his leg to diabetes six months ago. He has been adjusting to life without it. Simple things like shopping at Wal-Mart can be difficult, Young said, but nothing prepared him for what happened at the store Sunday.
“I just come up here on Father’s Day to get a few things, do a favor for the wife,” Young said. “The grandson had come along, and I sent the grandson in to pick up the electric cart.”
Young’s grandson, Zach Shumaker, said when he went to retrieve the cart and bring it to his grandfather, store officials told him it was against store policy.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, June 22 | 25 comments | Permalink
FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: APPEAL AGAINST WAL-MART UPHELD
Appeal Against Wal-Mart Upheld [Tampa Tribune]
ELFERS - Developers of a Wal-Mart Supercenter planned at State Road 54 and Grand Boulevard must go back before the Development Review Committee to resolve dozens of issues, including the location of a traffic light and turning lanes.
After nearly two hours of testimony Tuesday, the Pasco County Commission upheld an appeal by a residents group opposed to the store, sending the retailer’s plans back for more changes.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Wednesday, June 20 | 0 comments | Permalink
FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: NEW PLANS, PLEASE
Group Wants Wal-Mart To Redraw S.R. 54 Plans [The Tampa Tribune]
ELFERS - Opponents of a Wal-Mart Supercenter proposed for Grand Boulevard and State Road 54 will ask county commissioners on Tuesday to throw out plans for the project and make the retailer start again.
Opponents of the 208,000-square-foot store include residents of nearby Colonial Heights and the St. Petersburg-based Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now.
The county’s Development Review Committee approved Wal-Mart’s preliminary plans in December. Opponents say the plans were full of holes and violated county land-development rules.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, June 18 | 0 comments | Permalink
Horry County, SC. Residents Gearing Up To Battle Wal-Mart Supercenter
Wal-Mart has announced plans to build a supercenter on Route 17 in Horry County, South Carolina at the Garden City Beach Connector. The company is planning for a store opening in the fall of 2008, but community opponents hope to make them miss that date. Wal-Mart submitted its plans to the Horry County planning department two months ago. The Horry county planning staff will make the decision on the 184,109 s.f. project. According to the Sun News, area residents say the location for this huge store couldn’t be worse. “That’s a dangerous place because of the traffic,” one area resident told the News. “How can the county do that without a public hearing? I don’t see why the community doesn’t stop it.” A Wal-Mart official explained, “The No. 1 thing for folks to understand is when we put in a new center, that’s to capture existing traffic.” In other words, all Wal-Mart is doing is shifting market share by redirecting shoppers to their location. Officials said Wal-Mart has not indicated if it will replace a vacant building on the site, or build on vacant land at the site. Wal-Mart already has five locations in Horry County.
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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, June 15 | 0 comments | Permalink
Community Impact Assessment Legislation Nears Passage in Maine
Last week, the Maine House of Representatives passed LD 1810, the Informed Growth Act, by a vote of 82-49. This legislation would highlight the true costs of big box development and provide communities with the tools and information to create and sustain vibrant, just, and sustainable local economies.
The legislation has been championed by the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, with the goal of providing cities and towns better tools with which to evaluate the full range of benefits and costs associated with large-scale retail development. It would allow retail development decisions to be made using objective information on how the development would impact things such as existing small business, employment and the cost of public services.
The Maine Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this week.
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Monday, June 11 | 10 comments | Permalink
FLORIDA SITE FIGHT: CORAL SPRINGS TO GET TWO WAL-MART NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETS
Coral Springs to get two Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Coral Springs—Coral Springs Two grocery stores run by Wal-Mart soon will be opening in shopping centers previously occupied by Winn-Dixie stores.
A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market is coming to the Cypress Run Square, on the northeast corner of West Atlantic Boulevard and Coral Springs Drive, and the other will be in the North Hills Plaza, on the northwest corner of Wiles Road and University Drive.
The additions should help revitalize both shopping centers, according to Susan Hess, Coral Springs community development director.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, June 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
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