Heber City, UT. Wal-Mart Zoning Goes to a Vote
Heber Votes on Big Box Zoning Today [KCPW News (Utah)]
Wal-Mart is on the ballot in Heber City today. Actually, the zoning change would apply to all big-box stores larger than 60-thousand square feet in Heber. But opponent Mike Tyler says Wal-Mart’s the worst:
“Please be careful about how you vote,” warns Tyler. “If you want a big box, that’s fine. But make sure you have an addendum in that contract with the city that does not allow them to put a Wal-Mart in here. Because any other big box would be ten times better than having a Wal-Mart come into town.”
Tyler is a South Jordan resident and can’t even vote on the issue in Heber today. But he got involved in Heber campaign activities because he says Wal-Mart hurt his small hometown in California. Plenty of Heber residents say they would welcome more shopping options. Melissa Toy is among them:
“Right now I spend tons of money in Park City, or down in Orem and Provo or Salt Lake, and I would much rather it come back to the community,” says Toy. “I’m okay because I know what it’s gonna do to our property values, too.”
Toy moved to Heber from Park City where she saw her property values jump when the nearby Redstone Development expanded.
A “yes” vote on today’s zoning referendum will allow big box stores larger than 60-thousand square-feet in Heber. The Boyer Company wants to build a 149-thousand square-foot Wal-Mart as one anchor in a development of shops and restaurants on Heber’s Main Street.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, November 06 | 0 comments | Permalink
Wal-Mart Starts Using Battle-Mart Tactics
The “New England Customer Action Network” claims to be for the people...that is, for the people who are for Wal-Mart. The astroturf organization (run by Wal-Mart) is using grassroots organizing techniques to further the company’s cause in what has proven to be one of the most contentious areas of the country for the retailer. The company also created the “California Customer Action Network,” targeting activists in California where Wal-Mart faces site fights in several areas. The whole project reveals the fact that site fights have become a major issue for the retailer in its efforts to expand. Not only are more citizens working to fight the retailer, more and more often they’re winning. Visit our Battle-Mart blog to read more about fighting Wal-Mart, or our State and Local page to see what’s happening in your part of the country.
A human face on a big-box store [Boston Globe]
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is turning to customers for help in expanding its business in New England.
Over the last month, the retail giant has set up tables at many of its stores and invited customers to sign up for a New England Customer Action Network. The group is a sort of Wal-Mart defense league that can be tapped if the retailer faces local opposition to its expansion plans.
“If government officials try to limit your shopping choices, or prevent Wal-Mart from opening new stores or improving existing stores, Customer Action Network members can help by standing up for their rights,” said one flier. Company officials say more than 26,000 customers have signed up so far, 7,500 of them in Massachusetts.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, November 05 | 4 comments | Permalink
More From Northcross, Texas
Judge to issue Northcross Wal-Mart decision in 2-3 weeks [KEYE-TV (Austin, Texas)]
The fight over a proposed Wal-Mart at Northcross Mall came to a Travis County courtroom Thursday. The judge said she would make her ruling in writing in about two to three weeks.
Neighborhood groups are fighting the Wal-Mart, which is slated to go in at Burnet Road and Anderson Lane.
The judge decided to wait to decide. After two hours of arguments, the judge in the case ruled she needed time to think about her ruling.
This has been a ferocious battle—almost a year now of protests and verbal bickering between the parties. Some neighbors are set on keeping Wal- Mart out of their backyards.
Those neighbors took their fight to the courthouse and asked a judge to halt the big box superstore’s plans to open a new 192,000 square-foot store.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, November 02 | 1 comments | Permalink
Northcross, TX. Group Seeks Judgement
Group seeks summary judgement against Northcross Wal-Mart [Austin Business Journal]
One of the groups suing the city of Austin over its approval of a Wal-Mart store at Northcross Mall is seeking a summary judgment today in Travis County court on whether or not the project’s approval violated city code.
The Allandale Neighborhood Association and Responsible Growth for Northcross, a group that formed to fight the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter, both filed separate suits against the city over its approval of the store earlier this year. Because the claims of the two lawsuits overlap, they were combined by court order.
The suits claim that developer Lincoln Property Co.’s site plan violated city code because it did not seek a conditional use permit on a planned 6,000-square-foot garden center. A conditional use permit would have required a public hearing.
The Allandale Neighborhood Association will ask a judge to determine whether a conditional use permit was necessary, and if the city violated its own ordinance by approving the site plan without the permit.
Tom Linehan, president of ANA, says if the judge rules in their favor, the developers would likely have to re-file their site plan. And since the Big Box ordinance that requires a conditional use permit on all retail projects over 100,000 square feet was put in place after the Wal-Mart project was sanctioned, the developers could face a tougher road the second time around, says Linehan.
RG4N will present its case against the city at a trial scheduled for Nov. 13. In addition to questions over the necessity of a conditional use permit, the RG4N lawsuit includes claims regarding the removal of trees on the property, water runoff and safety issues related to traffic. If the judge rules against the city today however, that trial may not be necessary.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, November 02 | 0 comments | Permalink
Northcross, TX. Judge Hears Case
Judge hears Wal-Mart case [Austin American Statesman]
The opposing sides in a lawsuit over a Wal-Mart supercenter faced off in a courtroom today.
There weren’t many fireworks — a few audience members seemed to be in danger of dozing off — but state District Judge Margaret Cooper spiced things up a little with her combative questioning style.
Cooper didn’t rule today; she said she would sent the lawyers a letter with her order.
Lincoln Property Co. wants to redevelop Northcross Mall, which it owns, and lease space to Wal-Mart and other stores.
The Allandale Neighborhood Association filed suit against Lincoln and the City of Austin in July, arguing that the city should have held a public hearing and required Lincoln to get a special permit before approving a site plan for the store.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, November 02 | 0 comments | Permalink
Kingman, AZ. Wal-Mart Moves After Long Delay
Wal-Mart moves on center [Mohave Daily News (Ariz.)]
Wal-Mart is moving forward with the long-delayed distribution center planned along I-40 near Kingman.
The company inquired about the cost of its water hookup and water allocation with the Mohave County Public Works Department.
“The recent development is they are financially securing their water out there,” Jonas Peterson, deputy director of economic development for Mohave County, said. “It’s $1,400 for the hookup fee.”
The water allocation is charged at a rate of $1,240 per gallon per minute. The Wal-Mart allocation is for 200 gallons per minute.
“The allocation fee is $280,000 and they’re in the process of financially securing it,” Peterson said.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, November 02 | 0 comments | Permalink
Northcross, TX. Citizens Group Gathers SteamC
David versus Goliath: Austin residents take-on Wal-Mart [Op-Ed News.com]
In November 2006, residents in Austin, Texas who lived near a dying shopping mall called Northcross received some big news in their morning paper: Wal-Mart was coming to town—literally. This wasn’t going to be your typical super-center situated off of an interstate, but a 219,000 sq. ft. Wal-Mart (the largest in Austin) near a four-way intersection flanked by neighborhoods. The biggest surprise to residents though was that the site-plan had already been approved by city-council. Concerned about the impact of a large 24 hr. Wal-Mart in their backyard, and frustrated that their input hadn’t been sought, the residents formed RG4N (Responsible Growth for Northcross) and the fight was on.
Early on in the fight, RG4N discovered that Wal-Mart had fine-tuned its site application process from lessons it’d learned during previous battles against other cities—over 280 cities have stopped Wal-Mart, according to the San Luis Obispo New Times. In most cases, Wal-Mart purchases land that its stores will occupy; this time it would only lease. Usually, residents get wind of a new super-center because Wal-Mart “is purchasing property or has got to change zoning,” said Lisa Waddell, vice-president of RG4N. “We think that they were really sneaky here. They really kept it under wraps.”
As a mere tenant, Wal-Mart escaped the direct line of fire, leaving RG4N to deal with the city and the Dallas based developer Lincoln Properties. Residents’ frustration over Wal-Mart’s hushed move-in was compounded by the city’s atypical approval process of Wal-Mart’s site plan. By granting the developer an “administrative” site permit instead of a “conditional use” permit—which RG4N says is required by city law because of Wal-Mart’s outdoor garden center—the city-council wasn’t required to hold a public hearing. Undeterred, residents showed up in large numbers to voice their concerns in front of city council. In response, the city-council claimed “because it’s not an official public hearing, its hands were tied,” said Waddell.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Wednesday, October 31 | 0 comments | Permalink
Heber City, UT. Low Prices at What Price?
Heber City to vote on allowing Wal-Mart [Associated Press via Daily Herald (Utah)]
Everyday low prices at what price?
That’s the debate here in Heber City, where residents will vote Nov. 6 whether to allow a big-box retail development in this fast-growing mountain hamlet.
The ballot question asks voters to decide whether to add a zoning category for retail outlets larger than 60,000 square feet. Salt Lake City-based developer The Boyer Co. has plans for a 70-acre project anchored by a Wal-Mart store.
Opponents fear Heber City, 50 miles east of Salt Lake City, will lose its local flavor. They dispute the idea that residents want the shopping and restaurants promised by developers.
Studies from Boyer show 90 percent of Heber City residents have shopped at Wal-Mart over the past 90 days and estimate $100 million in retail spending occurs outside city boundaries.
Boyer also points to Heber City’s “mind-boggling” growth as justification for development. Census figures show the city grew 15 percent between 2000 and 2003, although retail sales only increased 1.2 percent.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Wednesday, October 31 | 0 comments | Permalink
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