WAL-MART SENDS OUT 36,000 MAILERS IN SALT LAKE CITY, UT

Wal-Mart seeking east-side support [Deseret News (Utah)]

About 36,000 households in east-side Salt Lake City neighborhoods have received mailers from Wal-Mart that seek support for turning a Kmart on Parleys Way into a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The mailer has a return postcard that residents can send to The Summit Group, a local public-relations firm, voicing support for the supercenter proposed for 2705 E. Parleys Way. The postcard allows residents to request to receive more information about the store and to grant permission to use their names as supporters of the project. The mailers were sent out Friday and are the third wave of mailers in the past year from Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart has owned the Kmart property since February 2005 and wants to raze the 40-year-old building for what Wal-Mart describes as a larger, more modern and attractive space. But Wal-Mart first must persuade the Salt Lake City Planning Commission to change the area’s master plan and zoning to allow for a supercenter.

The commission last month listened to a presentation from developers and comments from the public but made no decisions.

Wal-Mart’s plans have angered some residents in the area, many of whom would prefer small businesses in the neighborhood and worry about traffic to the store, which is near the intersections of I-80, I-215, Foothill Boulevard, Parleys Way and Wilshire Drive.

The Sugar House, East Bench, Greater Avenues, Bonneville Hills, Wasatch Hollow, Sunnyside East and Yalecrest community councils have passed motions or resolutions opposing the rezone because it is not supported by the East Bench master plan. They also contend that the big-box store would increase traffic and harm local businesses.

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Posted by Tony Calero on Thursday, July 24 | 0 comments | Permalink

WAL-MART TO GO BEFORE COUNCIL TODAY IN PARK CITY, UT

Summit County postpones decision on Wal-Mart expansion [The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)]

Wal-Mart officials have been waiting two and a half years for approval of their plan to expand their west Summit County store to include grocery. And they’re going to have to wait a little longer.

After a spirited public hearing Wednesday evening, Summit County Commissioner Sally Elliot made a motion to deny the mega-retailer’s plan to expand its 72,000-square-foot outlet to 115,000 square feet.

“We haven’t taken fully into account the additional traffic that might be caused by an increase in size by Wal-Mart,” she said.

But her motion died for lack of a second.

Commissioner Bob Richer, however, citing concerns of residents about traffic at the already clogged Kimball Junction shopping area, moved to hold off on making a decision until the commission could re-examine traffic studies.

“Perhaps we should take a week, two weeks, or two months to digest it,” he said of input from concerned residents. His motion passed.

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Posted by Tony Calero on Thursday, July 24 | 0 comments | Permalink

Give Workers A Break, Not Wal-Mart

Every day, communities across America choose to side with Wal-Mart, the world’s largest corporation, rather than local workers and small businesses. Wake Up Wal-Mart, along with community leaders across the country, are standing and demanding a change. From WakeUpWalMart.com:

Starting today, supporters of WakeUpWalMart.com and local elected officials will hold hundreds of press conferences throughout the country to launch a new campaign “Give Workers a break, not Wal-Mart.” The national effort will call on local officials and candidates at the local, state and federal level to side with workers, not Walmart.

As part of the launch of this new campaign, local WakeUpWalmart.com supporters, elected officials and candidates for office will gather outside Walmart stores to speak out about how the world’s largest retailer stands to profit from John McCain’s tax plan while working Americans continue to struggle in this tough economy. Supporters of WakeUpWalmart.com will hand out flyers to tell Wal-Mart customers how the retail giant stands to save billions under John McCain’s tax plan.

Elected officials, community leaders and candidates will also sign the “Give Workers a Break, Not Wal-Mart Pledge” which calls on John McCain, as well as local and state governments to demand that Wal-Mart end its irresponsible and immoral business practices.

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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Wednesday, July 23 | 32 comments | Permalink

HEARING TODAY IN PARK CITY, UT

Wal-Mart hearing is today [Park Record (Utah)]

Today, the Summit County Commission will consider if Wal-Mart at 6545 N. Landmark Drive should expand to sell groceries.

Building the new Wal-Mart Supercenter would increase the size of the store by about 60 percent to 115,758 square feet.

A Wal-Mart public hearing before the Summit County Commission is scheduled July 23 at 4 p.m. at the Sheldon Richins Building at Kimball Junction.

Snyderville Basin Planning Commissioners Flint Decker, Claudia McMullin, Jeff Smith and Julie Baker recommended the County Commission approve a conditional use permit for the expansion. New Basin Planning Commissioner Bassam Salem abstained from voting July 8.

Hooker said the expansion and remodel would improve the appearance of the store.

“We are proposing a modern, updated façade that has been developed in coordination with county staff,” Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Loscotoff said in a prepared statement. “We will also enhance the interior to include a wider selection of the quality items that our customers have come to expect from us and new customer friendly features.”

Big-box stores were not strictly regulated by codes when Wal-Mart was approved at Kimball Junction in 1991. If the impacts are dealt with, the county cannot prevent store officials from increasing the building’s size, according to McMullin.

The final decision rests with the Summit County Commissio

Posted by Tony Calero on Wednesday, July 23 | 0 comments | Permalink

PARK CITY, UT COMMISSION TO VOTE ON WAL-MART

Wal-Mart decision rests with County Commission [Park City Record (Utah)]

The Summit County Commission must give its OK before Wal-Mart at Kimball Junction can expand into a Supercenter.

“I never make up my mind until I go through the public hearing and weigh all of the public comment and evidence,” County Commissioner Sally Elliott said Thursday when asked how she will vote. “Public hearings for me are true opportunities for me to learn, so I never make a decision in advance of a public hearing.”

Wal-Mart officials hope to expand the store at 6545 N. Landmark Drive by about 43,000 square feet to house a full-service grocery. The County Commission will conduct a public hearing about the proposed expansion Wednesday at the Sheldon Richins Building at 4 p.m.

With a 4-0 vote, Snyderville Basin Planning Commissioners Flint Decker, Claudia McMullin, Jeff Smith and Julie Baker recommended the County Commission approve a permit for the expansion. New Basin Planning Commissioner Bassam Salem said he did not have enough background about the project. He abstained July 8.

Decker did not comment when reached Friday except to refer questions to McMullin, the Basin Planning Commission chairwoman.

“You can talk up one side and down the other about how you don’t like Wal-Mart. But, I’m telling you, every person in this town, at 11 o’clock at night before a project is due in school, has been over there buying poster board,” Basin Planning Commissioner Julie Baker said in a telephone interview. “Everybody goes over there.”

The store would be remodeled and expanded to 115,758 square feet.

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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Monday, July 21 | 0 comments | Permalink

WAL-MART MOVING FORWARD IN BROOMFIELD, CO

Barber’s Poultry makes way for Wal-Mart [Broomfield Enterprise (Colo.)]

After months of noisy public protest, work at two major construction projects along 120th Avenue finally is proceeding quietly.

Contractors are laying concrete foundations and putting up steel frames for the Broomfield Corners shopping center. Next door, the former owners of the land that will become a Wal-Mart Supercenter have left the property.

Getting to this point was a challenge for both projects, which their backers hope will encourage more economic development in the southeast corner of the city.

Before work on the Wal-Mart Supercenter could begin, Barber’s Poultry, had to move out. It left the property on June 27, company president David Barber said.

Barber said the company is looking forward to moving on at its new home in Denver and putting years of uncertainty behind it.

“We lost so much business the last couple of years, it’s good to finally get into a new facility and try to rebuild,” he said.

The company left after receiving nearly $15.4 million for the property, of which nearly $4.85 million came from the Broomfield Urban Renewal Authority. The money, which was paid to help Barber’s relocate, will be generated solely from sales and use tax revenues from the Wal-Mart property, which includes the supercenter and four smaller pad sites.

Although the company moved voluntarily, Barber said it was clear it was no longer wanted in Broomfield. The old warehouse was considered an eyesore, and the move to build a new structure seemed inevitable.

“We had to go sometime. It was not a matter of if, but when,” he said.

Now that Barber’s is gone, the next step is moving the cell phone towers from the top of the building. Mike Ciletti, a consultant for Wal-Mart, said engineers are working with telephone companies to decide where to rebuild the towers and how to limit disruption to mobile phone service.

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Posted by Tony Calero on Friday, July 18 | 0 comments | Permalink

BIG BOX VOTE ON THE BALLOT IN TUCSON, AZ

Big-box store vote on tap for S. Tucson [Arizona Daily Star]

South Tucson voters, already facing an initiative targeting greyhound racers, can add big-box stores and non-partisan elections to their ballot.

South Tucson has not allowed big-box stores within its one square mile corporate limits since 2005, with officials saying they want to protect small businesses. But Councilman Ildefonso Green has long wanted to change that, saying a big-box store would bring in much-needed revenue.

He submitted an initiative just before the filing deadline that would repeal the city’s big-box ordinance.

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Posted by Joel Nezianya on Tuesday, July 15 | 0 comments | Permalink

CONTROVERSIAL WAL-MART EXPANSION INCHES FORWARD IN PARK CITY, UTAH

Controversial Wal-Mart expansion gets nod [Park Record (Utah)]

Wal-Mart plans to super size.

Officials expect to expand the store at 6545 N. Landmark Drive by nearly 43,000 square-feet to provide a full-service grocery inside the new Supercenter.

But the Summit County Commission must still approve the permit, which was supported by four Snyderville Basin planning commissioners Tuesday. New Planning Commissioner Bassam Salem abstained from the vote.

“It’s not very common for them to reverse the recommendation of the Planning Commission,” Summit County planner Kimber Gabryszak said.

Gabryszak hopes in expanding the store that Wal-Mart officials will clean the parking lot and patch the dilapidated building.

“We received several letters from individuals in the community asking us to make sure that Wal-Mart cleans up the parking lot and their site,” she said.

But allowing Wal-Mart to expand could create a “monopoly” in Snyderville, Gabryszak acknowledged.

“Another similar business would not even be allowed to come in,” she said.

Independent grocer Mike Holm says Wal-Mart, which is the nation’s largest retailer, strong-arms local officials to get what they want.

“Wal-Mart just seems to always bully itself in and gets their way. I feel, we as a community need to support the stores that are there so they can hold their own,” said Holm, who owns The Park City Market. “Everybody just seems to bow down to them and it hurts a small businessman. We just don’t need another grocery store.”

His competition in western Summit County already consists of Smith’s Food and Drug, Whole Foods and two Albertsons stores.