WV town opposes zoning exception for Walmart

[Panich52]

Charleston Gazette

Lynne Fruth: It’s not about Walmart’, it’s about location

The decision that the Putnam County Board of Zoning Appeals will face later this month could have wide-ranging effects on the quality of life for those of us who live and do business in Teays Valley. The issue is whether to bend, and potentially break, the zoning regulations that have served the community well for two decades.

The section of Teays Valley Road, also known as W.Va. 34, being considered is zoned for commercial development but not the type of development that Walmart wants to put there. It’s a C-1 Zone, meaning that a store up to 5,000 square feet could go in there with no problem. That limit is necessary because the road already is congested, especially during peak commuting hours. ...

It takes little imagination to realize how much worse that congestion could become if the zoning board grants a variance that would allow the proposed 43,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market. In addition to shoppers and employees traveling to the site, there would be numerous tractor-trailers, gasoline tankers and other large trucks making daily deliveries. The character of the community would be permanently damaged. And if the zoning board would make an exception for Walmart, what would prevent other retailers from asking for their own exemptions to allow additional stores bigger than 5,000 square feet on that stretch of road? If the zoning board would bend the rules for Walmart, how could the board legally and morally reject other requests to bend the rules in the same way?

The opposition to the proposed Walmart Neighborhood Market is not just another anti-Walmart movement like those that have cropped in many parts of the country. The local opposition is clearly based on the location Walmart has chosen. There is plenty of land nearby that is zoned C-2 to accommodate stores as large as the one proposed. If Walmart would switch its interest to any of those locations, the company would not face the opposition that has arisen over its current plans.

The opposition also is not a reflection that those of us who operate other stores in the area are afraid to compete with Walmart. We compete with Walmart every day and are prepared to compete in the future. But we wouldn’t expect the zoning board to bend the rules for us the way Walmart is asking.

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http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20150610/GZ04/150619991/1453

[rurallib]

1. The solution seems simple: Just build Walmart a bigger road

at taxpayers expense.
It is what all the cool cities are doing.

[yeoman6987]

2. Or go down the street and build there

Hard to believe that it would be that difficult to drive a half mile more if you want to shop at Walmart anyway.

[rurallib]

3. town just north of us refused to let Walmart in

so they bought a big chunk of land just over the city limits and built there.
So the town refused to hook up water & sewer etc. One lawsuit later they were hooked up.

About a year later the downtown was empty and Walmart was doing a thriving business and not paying taxes to the town.
The county even had to put in some turning lanes at taxpayers expense.
Score Walmart 2, town - 20 for the businesses they lost.
Of course now Walmart is the only place to shop there

[yeoman6987]

4. That seems the way it is now

What is worse is when Walmart starts falling behind and decides to close leaving communities with nothing. That is just beginning in some areas. News hasn't caught up to that disaster yet.