In somewhat of a surprise, county planners in northern Virginia have voted to oppose the development of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on hallowed land abutting the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. But that's only a temporary victory for those who oppose the project.
During a hearing Thursday night in Orange, Virginia, the planners were deadlocked, 4-4, on a motion to approve the project. Under the planning commission's procedures, such a vote is the same as a denial. However, the county's Board of Supervisors considers the project on Monday, and it is not bound by the planning commission's position.
Wal-Mart's plan is to develop a 53-to-55-acre tract of land just north of the Wilderness Corner intersection in Orange, Virginia. Part of the proposed development would hold a Supercenter covering nearly 140,000 square feet, with enough room left over for additional retail outlets. While that land is not part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, it is, historically, part of the Wilderness Battlefield.
According to the National Park Service, the Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5-6, 1864, with troops under both Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee engaged. "It was the beginning of the Overland Campaign, the bloodiest campaign in American history and the turning point in the war in the Eastern Theatre," notes the agency.
Comments
I do not subscribe to the theory that "just because it's outside the park it's appropriate"
I live in Black Hills, on a wooded lot. It's a large piece of property.
This does not make it acceptable to build something, say, of this magnitude on the property next door.
Even if I am outside the boundaries of the National Forest.
Whether or not the goal is to either make money (likely) or just riun the area (unlikely), it's still not an appropriate location.
The last place I lived had 2 Supercenters - in a city of 50,000 people. Didn't matter which part of town you went to, there was this giant paved-over area called a "parking lot" & a complex of surrounding buildings. None of which particularly blended in with their surroundings (how could they???), which is exactly what the end result will be if this goes through.
55 acres of buildings & pavement adjoining an historic site from our historic past.
A lot bigger blight on the landscape than a cell tower.......
The cell tower issue was handled amicably between Alltel and the NPS. They eventually found a spot north of town attached to an existing water tower.
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/04/12/news/20celltowe...
Of course I'm not sure how far this can go. The closest NPS unit to where I live is John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, California. That's located right on California State Route 4 (a multilane freeway) with a post office next door, a gas station across the street, plus a motel (The John Muir Lodge), car wash, and a supermarket nearby. The visitor center is a converted veterinary office. I used to pass this place on a daily basis when I did jury service in Martinez. That was a case of the city growing up around the site before it became a federal site.
Dude how many Wal-marts and StripMalls dowe need? Your question is enough's enough well your right when's enough enough?
How many do we need? I'll tell you how many we need. We need to keep building them until they stop making money. It is simple if "people" and I am talking the whole population, not just the loud ones, don't want it then it will be built and fail. I know for a fact that walmart would not build in a spot that they expected would lose money. Did our soldiers fight for a walmart... your right they did. That is our way of life in this country, and in many ways this debate, as well as the walmart is a honor to all that the country has to offer.
How far is enough? I cannot build on the border of a park, how about a mile, or 2 miles? Lines on a map are there for a reason. (the cell tower is a more complex issue, we had something around here with a golf driving range that was built next to a drive in theatre,the lights from the golf driving range was ruining the theatre...but I digress) .
How does a Historical neighborhood maintain its character... you have zoning laws, to ensure that the development is compatible with the area. Interesting note on zoning laws, part of what makes Washington D.C. such a wonderful place is that there are no tall buildings to over shadow the monuments. Do you know how they have preserved their atmosphere? There is a law that no structure in the city can be taller that 2 times the width of the widest street the building is on. Simple solution.
Ultimately it falls down to the state and local governments, and from the sounds of it, they are not helping much here.
On a side note, in my area, Walmart built a store as an anchor on a project to reuse the land of a closed steel mill. It redeveloped what could have become a dangerous eye sore and turned it into a valuable resource for the inner city area. (Ohh and they refused to take the HUGE tax credit for building on a abandoned industrial site) They also built a store on a reclaimed landfill, however that store closed when it was determined that the developer screwed up and the store became dangerous.
anon 3: Could it be that Walmart is "getting religion"? Or is it the pressure of public opinion? Fear of losing market share is a good motive for cleaning up their corporate act. Good move for locating on land no one else wants. Reclaiming blighted properties is always a good idea, although I think they should have gotten a good environmental hazard assessment before building on a landfill.
Perhaps the answer for Fredericksburg is to bring pressure to bear on the county to rezone the land nearest the park. A buffer area, maybe?