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What price, Walmart? One big box will beget another Date published: 9/16/2009
What price, Walmart? One big box will beget another
I am one of the "putrid preservationists" Orange County Supervisor Mark Johnson mentioned in his comments after the Walmart public hearing and subsequent vote to approve the Wilderness battlefield site ["Walmart on its way," Aug. 26]. Yes, there was a majority for this action by both the residents of Orange County and the Board of Supervisors to grant the permit to build on the Wilderness site. But history is peppered with examples where majorities of residents and the government have been wrong. I believe this is one of those cases. Is there anyone out there naive enough to believe that the development at this site will stop with the construction of Walmart and the three smaller boxes? Certainly we have seen that the adage of "big boxes beget more big boxes" is true. This is akin to dropping a stone into water. Once the stone is dropped, it is impossible to stop the ripples it creates. I don't believe the residents of Orange want another Central Park as the gateway to the county. Neither do we want the Wilderness Battlefield to suffer the same fate as Salem Church. It's sad but true; this is what will happen if Walmart is built at this location. Do we sell this legacy of priceless history so cheaply? A nation that loses its history loses it way. Curtis D. Abel Orange
What's different about this site is that it is already zoned for commercial use - and it's the ONLY commercially zoned site left in this immediate area. If Wal-Mart went to another site, you would likely get 8-10 Petco's, Pier One's, and Applesbees with no restrictions. The question the preservation community has never been able to answer is what happens to this site if Walmart moves?
Back in 2005, while Orange County engaged in preparing a Comprehensive Plan identifying areas for growth and development that included the north side of Route 3, there was an opportunity for the citizens to speak out to protect the Wilderness Battlefield. Instead, there was virtual silence on that topic. Where were all the nayseyers then?
I hope you are right Mr. Abel give us more stories to help the county. We want to build the area that is zoned for
development , where walmart will be built..We want about
5 big box stories there.
Mr. Abel raises the concerns of everyone who wanted Walmart to just move down the road. This big box development will surely be a gateway to more big box development. We can say goodbye to the rural nature of the county. It is slowly (or not so slowly) being paved over.
Mr. Able is correct. What is legal is not always right.
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