Does your town fight over new stores being built?

[lowkat]

YES, YES, YES !!!!!!

I think it had been close to two years now that we were going to get an Applebees. The site has been chosen, but there are all kinds of rumors, excuses (Its supposed to be a "new"version or something like that). Whatever, the ground still has flags and not a shovel of dirt has been moved. Its just so frustrating becasue our town truly needs more eating out places.

 

[robsmom]

how many legal battles does walmart have at any one time???? the town near us where these type of bigger stores are has been fighting walmart for years. i think they are on their third location. Not a small town you are driving our stores away issue because they have kmart, target, best buy, home depot, lowes, sam's, bj's, franks', toy's r us, babies r us, sport authority, office max, etc, plus a full mall, movie theaters etc. issue is location and traffic congestion.

closer to home super-g wants to put a big supermarket in an empty store that was caldor before they went out of business. town would rather have the run down plaza (all other stores are now empty) than a nice supermarket. go figure.

 

[disneyangel7488]

how many legal battles does walmart have at any one time???? the town near us where these type of bigger stores are has been fighting walmart for years. i think they are on their third location. Not a small town you are driving our stores away issue because they have kmart, target, best buy, home depot, lowes, sam's, bj's, franks', toy's r us, babies r us, sport authority, office max, etc, plus a full mall, movie theaters etc. issue is location and traffic congestion.

I think you may be talking about where I live lol. They have been planning to build a WalMart for a few years now in this now empty parking lot (which used to be a shopping center). And we do have a mall, two movie theaters, plus all those big stores you mentioned and lots of chain restaurants.

I just realized you are from southern NJ, like I am.

 

[arminnie]

Here in Arkansas (home of Wal*Mart) you can build all of the Wal*Marts you want to BUT it's hard to get people to agree to build anything else. Dillard's is also based here so they really don't let other department stores open up here.

We had a proposed Restoration Hardware, Williams Sonoma, and Crate and Barrel on a commercial street with two shopping malls get blasted out by the neighbors. Then a few years later a new mall was proposed in the western part of town - the neighborhood that did not want the RH, WS, and C&B cried foul that the development was going out west and would abandon the mid-town area. Go figure - no rhyme or reason to that argument. "Don't put it in my neighborhood but oh by the way don't you dare build it away from my neighborhood either."

For a metropolitan area of this size the shopping is PATHETIC which might be a good thing for me as I save money to go to WDW.

 

[robsmom]

Originally posted by disneyangel7488
I think you may be talking about where I live lol. They have been planning to build a WalMart for a few years now in this now empty parking lot (which used to be a shopping center). And we do have a mall, two movie theaters, plus all those big stores you mentioned and lots of chain restaurants.

I just realized you are from southern NJ, like I am.

Since we only have a few malls in SJ, bet i am. I was
talking about the deptford mall area and the walmart that was going to be where haddonwood was at one point and then near the home depot and now maybe at the old DMV plaza!! live about 15 minutes from there!!!

 

[peachgirl]

We had the Wal Mart fight here too a few years ago. Wal Mart won. They built the store, stayed opened 2 years and ran every smaller store out of business.

Once they accomplished their goal of becoming the only option to shop at, they closed their doors and opened a supercenter 20 minutes down the road. The building they still own stands empty and abandoned. They won't sell it and they won't allow anyone to lease it. Outside of a couple of convenience stores, it's a 20 minute drive to get anything.

That's why small towns fight Wal Mart.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Our town is not fighting over a store but over public water. We just had a town meeting this past Tuesday with the water company over their proposals to give us water. The whole township has public water, and has for the past 3 or so years. We are the last 95 houses to get it. Some people are pitching a fit. Alot of people here have lost their wells to mine subsidence also and have to use water buffalos, but these other "neighbors" don't care. They were pitching a fit about the money its going to cost them. This has been 3 years in the making. It took that long to get a grant. Its not like they didn't know about it. I'm not sounding harsh because the people that are chirping the loudest live in 500,000 houses on 30 acres, not like they can't afford it.

 

[dizneenut]

Our town is going through the Wal-Mart fight right now.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Our Mayor is cramming everything but the kitchen sink in our town. I have everything you listed and more. It really has made my property value go up that is for sure.

In fact he is fighting with folks about our historic downtown. He wants to rip it all out and have it become "upscale". He was voted down on that measure.

 

[wdwfam]

Wow! I think at first that we all must be from the same place, then I look at profiles and realize we're not. Wal-Mart must delight in controversy. Our city of 85,000 is putting in a 2nd Super Center with a third in the planning stages. We have one Super Center now with two regular Wal-Marts. The smaller ones will close as they open a new Super Center. It must be the same scenerio in each city. The problem with ours is not to build, where to build. The big stink is building next to/in established neighborhoods.

 

[JayCT]

Connecticut is the land of the NIMBY (Not in my Back Yard). As a consultant in the development field, it amazes me that people believe that commercially zoned property should not be developed, at all. I can not tell you how many projects I have worked on that have been fought by people because they do not want their town "destroyed" by development. Even in towns that are not that affluent and really need new development, there is always someone who is very vocal about not allowing something to be built. What people forget is that this land is privately owned and the owner has the right to develop it to its highest and best use under the zoning laws, just like a private homeowner has the right to build or add onto his house.

Our town is an affluent suburb of Hartford and the people fight just about everything. If they approve something, it must be very upscale. We have the largest Home Depot in New England (on a site that has been zoned for 130,000 square feet of retail space for 50 years), but it is brick with a lot of details and trim. We have two super supermarkets, one is brick with details and trim; the other has stone, stained clapboard and barnboard. I was involved in the last one and could not believe that people opposed it. It has turned out so nice in comparison to what could have been put there. Yeah it would have been nice to keep the small farmhouse with rolling lawns , but it across the street is a car dealer and next door is a warehouse.

We also have a very upscale shopping center with a lot of over-priced shops. This center was designed by a renowned architect and is always pointed to as what people want when I attend meetings throughout the state. It is very attractive, however, DW and i never shop there because the stores are just too expensive for our pocketbooks.

Our town is now facing an on-going battle over a 100,000 square foot retail center. A group has organized to fight it and has proposed a change to the zoning to reduce the size and create a "village" type development like the other one above only with residential units. The property abuts two very busy expressways, so no one is going to want to live there. What do people expect with a commercially zoned property fronting on major highways? I spoke in opposition to the project the first time it came up before the P&Z, not because of its size or make up. The developer does not have good access to the site and was not proposing any roadway improvements. If he had, I would have probably supported it.

 

[Maleficent13]

In my town, we're not fighting over a Wal-Mart, we're fighting over a strip club! About a year ago this concrete building started going up in our shopping district, then construction just stopped with only three walls up. Turns out they'd managed to keep what it was going to be a secret for that long, but as soon as someone found out, they got an injunction against it. The people building it won, and now they're finishing it, and it is 10x more attractive than the buildings around it. You certainly can't tell what it is from the outside...my mom thought it was a new jewelry store! I told her not to go in...the diamonds she saw might not be where she expected them!!

 

[mikki]

You are definitely not alone. Not only do we constantly fight over the NIMBY factor but then our "wonderful" city council is throwing money at the developers to "please build here" instead of Phoenix. We have a persistant North vs. South mentality. The Northern part of town wants no parks, no lights, no shopping, nothing that disturbs their peaceful, rural lifestyle. There is a strong sentiment that "I've got mine" so lets stop building. Also, I might add that they pay no school taxes since they decline to be "incorporated". Arizona is about 100 years behind the real world!

 

[grinningghost]

I guess it's the same all over.

In addition to the current Wal-Mart controversy, there was another one a while back. The people that were complaining live in a townhouse community which backs up to a main commercial drag. Sorry folks, but if you buy right next to a commercial road, don't you think that someday there might be something COMMERCIAL there? Duh.

 

[JayCT]

grinningghost - I must say I agree with you. People make the most expensive investment in the life and do little research to see what could be around them. They do not look into what that vacant land is behind or across from their house. I have a friend who called me because the farm across the street is being subdivded. she said that she was told by the agent that it was not developable because it fronts on the river. If she bothered to check out maps in town hall and talked to the staff, she would have found that it was developable. I go to so many meetings for projects where people get up and say they don't want something and then get mad when the zoning board approves the project because it was zoned for that use. People do not understand that legally these boards can not deny something that meets the zoning requirements and mitigates its impact on traffic and drainage. When you buy a house, do a little leg work to find out these things or do not complain when a shopping center is ploped down in your backyard. Jay

 

[mtblujeans]

Originally posted by Meriweather
Nothing goes in our town. Every new thing is outside the city limits. The closest WalMart is a town over.....we'll never get anything like that here. TPTB want to preserve the historic small town quality.....good?? Who knows. So, I drive 20 minutes to get to just about anything

That is the way we are in Kalispell, too. We are a ski resort area and everybody fights about everything being built. Some people have lived here for generations and it is amazing how fast they want to sell their family property out to development. The people that are moving here from larger cities are alternately for and against more stores. Right now there is a 400+ acre development moving slowly toward approval. Can you imagine a combination mall and residential area that size?

 

[mtblujeans]

Originally posted by JayCT
People do not understand that legally these boards can not deny something that meets the zoning requirements and mitigates its impact on traffic and drainage. When you buy a house, do a little leg work to find out these things or do not complain when a shopping center is ploped down in your backyard.

Sometimes, people buy that one house/property and plan to live there for the rest of their lives. Neighborhoods can change in that lifetime. You are right. Either watch for planning board meeting announcements, check it out before you buy, or both. There is alot to learn about buying a house, unfortunately, and seller's sometimes feel "buyer beware" (which means YOU find out what you are buying).

 

[Jungle Skipper]

Originally posted by Stepharoonie!
Not in Orlando Are you kidding me?

Stepharoonie! you made me laugh out loud on that one! Well said!

I live in a small town in Kentucky and everything around here sparks controversie. A lot of religious groups tend to be the focus, fighting on either side of any new development...To tell you how backwards it gets around here...our mall was refurbishing the main entrance area a couple of years ago, and they posted signs that read "Pardon our progress"

"pardon our progress" That should be this towns slogan.

There was a huge fight over a home depo, then over alcohol on sundays at restaurants, then over a casino (which got shot down totally..despite the financial good it could have done), now a new walmart controversy...it never ends....

Just remember DISers...whatever happens, please. "Pardon our Progress"

Jungle Josh

 

[pw2pp]

We went through this about 6 years ago when there was talk of a Meijer store opening. I have to say I LOVE having my Meijer so close to home.......
Oh, and now we also have:
Target
Kohls
Home Depot
Bath & Body Works
Chili's
Blockbuster
(this is all less than a mile away)

 

[crz4mm2]

Personally, I would be THRILLED if something new were to come to our town. Having lots the two big industries and many small ones, our town seems to be drying up.