Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
Wal-Mart proposal moves to Orange supervisors
Wal-Mart hearing eyed for late summer; Orange planners negotiate particulars of proposed retail center
BY CLINT SCHEMMER
The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 27, 2009
Orange County supervisors are likely to hear the public's views on the Wal-Mart retail center proposed for the Wilderness battlefield area late next month or in early August.
County Administrator William C. Rolfe said yesterday that July 23 and Aug. 4 are tentative dates he has proposed for the public hearing on the issue before the Board of Supervisors.
Rolfe said he anticipates that the board will set the hearing date at its next meeting, on Tuesday. The auditorium at Orange County High School needs to be reserved and legal advertising requirements must be met.
Based on a recent conversation with board Chairman Lee Frame, Rolfe said, he doesn't believe supervisors will decide the matter the night of the hearing, preferring to have more time to fully consider the testimony.
The county Planning Com-mission endorsed the retail development Thursday night, voting 5-4 to recommend it to the supervisors with certain conditions.
Those conditions, which were negotiated with Wal-Mart by Orange's planning staff and legal counsel, attempt to nail down important details of the 236,000 -square-foot retail center proposed by JDC Ventures of Vienna. The 138,000-square-foot Supercenter would make up nearly 60 percent of the project, with several nearby pad sites available near State Route 3 for "baby-box" stores.
The 51.6-acre tract at Routes 3 and 20 is zoned for commercial use, but under the county's "big-box" ordinance, the landowner must be granted a special-use permit to build a store larger than 60,000 square feet.
The proposal has generated national controversy over its impact to the Wilderness battlefield where Gens. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant's forces first clashed in May 1864. Foes say the issue is not Wal-Mart, but the retail center's location--a quarter-mile from Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park--and the traffic and additional development it would foster.
The Planning Commission's 11 conditions cover the Wal-Mart's architecture and exterior appearance, the timing of road construction, security issues, off-site transportation improvements, buffers and landscaping, signs and historical displays.
Additionally, at the urging of Commissioner Nigel Goodwin, the panel approved a resolution urging resolution of three issues:
Setting a timetable for completion of the Supercenter and road work. Some commissioners were concerned that Wal-Mart could walk away from the project and Orange would be with left a large, vacant cleared property.
Ensuring that Wal-Mart will commit, in writing, to provide money to lengthen turn lanes along Route 20 north where it meets Route 3. For that project to work, the National Park Service would have to yield right of way, since the road is adjacent to the battlefield park.
Making sure that Lake of the Woods property owners aren't saddled with the cost of heightening or enlarging the community's smaller dam if the state Department of Conservation and Recreation decides construction of the retail center necessitates that. Two of JDC's store sites fall within the state-designated inundation zone for LOW's eastern lake. The commission wants Wal-Mart to pay 100 percent of the cost of dam work that Virginia may require.
Frame said the Board of Supervisors is not bound to follow the commissioners' recommendation, but he was impressed by their work.
"As I mentioned to the chairman of the Planning Commission earlier, they did a very thorough job of scrubbing the issues," Frame said. "Many of the questions we'll be asking have already been answered through this process."
A majority of the five supervisors is believed to support the Wal-Mart proposal.
Supervisor Teri Pace, who opposes the Wal-Mart at JDC's site, said she isn't about to call the battle over. "The board certainly has disagreed with the Planning Commission's recommendations before," Pace said.
Eric
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
I know that several of you have already, including myself, e-mailed the Board of Supervisors in Orange County.
I hope those of you who have not will take a moment to send a short, intelligible note to the five member board.
It really is not over until it is over. Thanks!!Leave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
ORANGE BUILDER OFFERS WAL-MART 75 ACRES WEST OF BATTLEFIELD
Local builder offers 75-acre Route 3 site to Orange and Wal-Mart for big-box store
By CLINT SCHEMMER
The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 26, 2009
Orange County builder John Marcantoni has put an offer on the table that he wants the county and Wal-Mart to consider.
He recently contacted both parties to invite Wal-Mart to locate on 75 acres along State Route 3 west of Lake of the Woods. Marcantoni owns the property with business partner Robert Dudley of Stafford County.
Marcantoni said yesterday that he had not received a reply from Orange County or Wal-Mart.
The tract, which has 1,300 feet of Route 3 frontage, is planned for mixed-use development and is served by public utilities. The agriculturally zoned property is at the corner of State Routes 3 and 708, next to the Somerset Farms and Wilderness Shores subdivisions.
Marcantoni said he believes his property offers a way for the Arkansas retailer to build a Supercenter and Orange to build up its tax base without fueling opposition from the National Park Service, historians and preservation groups, as Wal-Mart's proposed Wilderness Corner site has.
Marcantoni's tract, which has plenty of room for a "big box"-sized retail center, wouldn't threaten the Wilderness battlefield or stress the busy intersection of State Routes 3 and 20, he said in an interview.
Wal-Mart spokesman Keith Morris said last night that the Wilderness Corner site is the only one in the Route 3 corridor that meets all of the retailer's needs, particularly that the property is already zoned for commercial development. He noted that Marcantoni's property is zoned for agricultural use, and that Orange supervisors rejected an earlier rezoning request.
Marcantoni, who has lived in eastern Orange for nearly 10 years, said ruling out agriculturally zoned property is premature. A special-use permit, which Wal-Mart must obtain under the county's big-box ordinance to be allowed to build its Supercenter, requires an applicant to perform all of the studies required by a rezoning, he said.
"This is a viable alternative. They're essentially going through a rezoning process now, and they're not even through the Planning Commission," Marcantoni said yesterday, before the commission met again to consider Wal-mart's plan. "The Board of Supervisors will make the final decision, but Wal-Mart is going through the same steps as it would in a rezoning."
Marcantoni had a traffic analysis done for the large retail center his partnership proposed as part of Signature Station, which also included dozens of townhouses. The traffic study accommodated full build-out of Somerset Farm and Wilderness Shores, along with a proposed convention center, golf course and subdivision named River Point, he said.
The Board of Supervisors liked the retail center but voted 3-2 to deny the 2006 rezoning request because of its housing component. That was highly controversial at the time because of other projects in the development pipeline, Marcantoni said.
EricLeave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
ROUND 1 TO WAL-MART
Orange Planning Commission narrowly endorses Wilderness Wal-Mart proposal
BY CLINT SCHEMMER
The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 26, 2009
A split Orange County Planning Commission last night endorsed a Wal-Mart retail center proposed in the Wilderness battlefield area.
The 11-member advisory panel voted 5-4 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a proposal by JDC Ventures of Vienna for the 51.6-acre commercial development. JDC must obtain a special-use permit for the center because of the size of Wal-Mart's proposed 138,000-square-foot store.
The tract, one-quarter mile from the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, has been zoned for commercial use since the early 1970s. Last year Orange adopted a big-box ordinance requiring a special-use permit for stores of more than 60,000 square feet.
JDC's development plan, of which the Wal-Mart Supercenter constitutes about 60 percent, has generated national controversy over its impact to the park and the Wilderness battlefield where Gens. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant's forces first clashed in May 1864.
The proposed retail site is outside the national park boundary but within the area defined for further study for possible historical significance.
A coalition of local and national groups has been battling the proposal since last summer. The issue, the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition has said, is not Wal-Mart, but its location near the park and the traffic and additional development it would spawn.
Commissioners Cory Hefner, William Speiden, David Kovarik, Donald Brooks and Will Likins, the panel's chairman, spoke in favor of JDC's proposal. Commissioner Elliott Fox Jr. could not attend the meeting but issued a statement supporting the project.
Likins said that though he doesn't like Wal-Mart per se, Orange County needs the tax revenue and jobs the store will provide.
At a commissioner's request, Wal-Mart presented an economic impact study last night asserting that its store and the associated retail stores on the site will generate $800,000 per year in tax revenue for Orange and 622 jobs once they're built and operating. Months earlier, Wal-Mart had told county officials the Supercenter alone would create $500,000 in annual tax revenue and 300 jobs.
Likins urged his colleagues not to let the emotions raised by preservationists carry the day.
"If the county denies this permit, we'll lose all control, as we did with the Sheetz [at Wilderness Corner]," Likins said. "We could end up with something desperately worse than this proposal."
On the other side, Commissioners Nigel Goodwin, Walter Smith, Terry Apperson and Thomas Bundy argued against the development.
"There's no guarantee that this is going to be a net revenue generator for Orange County," Goodwin said.
Bundy said allowing the retail center, many times the size of the total retail development now nearby, would compound bad decisions Orange officials made years ago in zoning the site.
Supervisor Teri Pace also sits on the Planning Commission. She participated in the discussion last night but did not vote.
Wal-Mart spokesman Keith Morris said he was pleased by the commission's action after months of intense public debate but said there's still a long way to go, as supervisors make the final decision on the project. He anticipates that the board will probably take up the issue in August.
Jim Campi of the Civil War Preservation Trust expressed disappointment in the commission's recommendation.
"The Orange County Planning Commission's vote is deeply disappointing and very problematic," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "The commission's approval ignores alternate available sites in Orange County, the many local and national voices raised in opposition, and the sanctity of this historic site."
Public comment at a Planning Commission hearing several weeks ago ran 2-1 against the retail center adjoining Wilderness Run north of State Route 3, near the State Route 20 intersection.
Last night, the commission went over JDC's proposal in detail, attaching a number of conditions to its recommendation.
Several commissioners raised concerns about whether Wal-Mart would provide enough funding to the Sheriff's Office to offset the increase in crime and security problems the store will cause.
Thomas Kleine, Wal-Mart's Richmond lawyer, said the company estimated the store would prompt 400 annual calls--one and a half per day--to the Sheriff's Office. Brooks pushed Wal-Mart to provide $325,000 per year in escrow to help pay the cost of additional law enforcement, beyond the one 24-hour on-site security patrol Wal-Mart is offering to provide.
EricLeave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
Planning Commission passed it. Now it moves onto the Board of Supervisor vote.
STEVE SZKOTAK, Associated Press Writer
ORANGE, Va. (AP) ―
Wal-Mart has won the backing of Orange County planners for a Supercenter near the Wilderness Battlefield in Virginia.
The 5-4 vote Thursday sends the proposal to the Board of Supervisors. That board is believed to be leaning toward approval of the 138,000-square-foot store within a cannon shot of the Civil War battlefield.
Supervisors will conduct a public hearing before taking a vote on the proposal. It has been criticized by some of the nation's top historians.
They have said the store is an affront to 29,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were killed or injured 145 years ago at the Wilderness.
Wal-Mart has said its studies have concluded the store will not actually be on the site of any bloody combat.Leave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
Drew,
Thanks for the info. I sent these folks a letter urging them to not
allow a Wilderness Wal-Mart. hopefully they will understand the importance
of protecting The Wilderness. I urge all of our fellow forum members and history
enthusiasts to contact officials explaining the importance of this matter.
Chuck SprowlsLeave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
Vote expected to take place tonight. Article below.
I am firing off a series of e-mails today and may place a phone call or three. Again the contact information is:
Chairman R. Mark Johnson
rmj142@yahoo.com
Supervisor Zack Burkett
zburkett@orangecountyva.gov
Supervisor Teel Goodwin
Teel.Goodwin@vabb.com
Vice Chairwoman Teri L. Pace
tpacedist4@aol.com
Supervisor Lee Frame
leeframe@orangecountyva.gov
By the Associated Press
June 25, 2009
ORANGE, Va.
Click here to find out more!
Wal-Mart's proposal to build a Supercenter near a hallowed Civil War battlefield in Virginia is headed to its first vote.
The Orange County Planning Commission is scheduled to take up the retailer's proposal Thursday, with the final decision remaining with the Board of Supervisors.
A who's who of historians and preservation groups have protested the proposed Locust Grove address for the 138,000 square foot store. They have said the store will intrude upon history--the Wilderness Battlefield--where 29,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed or injured 145 years ago.
Wal-Mart has said its studies have concluded the store will not actually be on the site of any bloody combat.
Supervisors are not bound by the recommendations of the Planning Commission.Leave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
Planners will meet again on Wal-Mart
Orange planners question Wal-Mart, but hold off on vote
BY ROBIN KNEPPER
The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 12, 2009
The Orange County Planning Commission questioned Wal-Mart representatives last night about a proposed Supercenter in the Wilderness battlefield area, but did not vote on the issue.
Another meeting will be held on June 25 to continue the questions to Wal-Mart, its consultants and representatives of the historical preservation community.
Wal-Mart is seeking a special-use permit to build a 138,000-square-foot Supercenter on a 51.5-acre site, owned by JDC Ventures of Vienna a quarter-mile north of the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20 and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Park Service officials have said the retail center would destroy the ambiance of the Civil War battlefield, increase traffic on Routes 3 and 20, and foster demand to widen those roads through the park. At a public hearing earlier this month, many people said they do not oppose a Wal-Mart in the county but are against the location.
Supporters say the retail development would bring needed jobs and tax revenue to the county.
Planning commissioners posed a number of questions, most of them to Wal-Mart attorney Tom Kleine last night: Were there other places in the area where the store could be built? What would employees be paid? Would greater police presence be required? How would traffic problems be mitigated? Is there an abandoned gold mine on the site?
Kleine said no other suitable location is available. The starting pay for all employees is $11.20 an hour in most locations. A condition of the special-use permit addresses Wal-Mart providing security at all time the store was open.
All road improvements will be paid for by Wal-Mart and will include new access roads and turn lanes, Kleine said. No gold mine was found on the proposed development site, but there is an old one farther west, he added.
Commissioner Donald Brooks asked a question about something "we've heard time and time again."
"Is the Wal-Mart going to be in the middle of the battlefield?"
Kleine said after studying the area, examining the history and files at the state Department of Historic Resources and having an archeological and architectural study done by Dovetail Cultural Resources of Fredericksburg, "no evidence of military engagements was found on the site."
Kleine also noted that decisions about land use are up to local governments and Orange County has, over many years and many comprehensive plans, designated the area for commercial development.
He added that Wal-Mart has worked with county staff "to design a project that is very respectful of the site."
Most of the commissioner's questions were directed to Kleine and Wal-Mart consultants, but representatives of the Virginia Department of Transportation, Department of Historic Resources, Dovetail Consulting were also asked to provide information. John Hennessy, chief historian of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, spoke about the historic importance of the site.
"This site is intrinsically significant enough to factor into your decision-making. You're being asked to juxtapose a new urban center, a Wal-Mart, next to a national park," he said.
About 80 people attended the meeting. The public was not allowed to speak.
EricLeave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
State backs Park Service
State agency urges Orange County to 'squarely address' National Park Service concerns about Wilderness Wal-Mart, says store could be seen from park, Route 3
BY CLINT SCHEMMER
The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 11, 2009
Orange County should resolve the National Park Service's concerns about the Wal-Mart retail center proposed in the Wilderness battlefield area, a state agency says.
As the Planning Commission prepares tonight to discuss the project with Wal-Mart, its members will also have an opportunity to question an official of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources about issues that VDHR has raised.
At the county's request, VDHR advised Orange planners and the Board of Supervisors on the proposal in a seven-page letter sent Monday to County Attorney Sharon Pandak by Kathleen Kilpatrick, the department's director. "In our considered judgment, the National Park Service's concerns about the impact of the proposed development and the park should not be dismissed, but squarely addressed by the county, ideally in the context of a comprehensive planning approach," Kilpatrick wrote.
The 51.5-acre site, owned by JDC Ventures of Vienna, is a quarter mile north of the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20 and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Park Service officials have said the retail center, along with the adjoining Wilderness Crossing development proposed by the King family, would create an urban center beside the park, increase traffic on Routes 3 and 20, and foster demand to widen those roads through the park.
Although the proposed Wal-Mart site lies outside the congressionally mandated boundaries of the park, Kilpatrick wrote that the Wal-Mart site is part of both the May 1864 Wilderness and the May 1863 Chancellorsville battlefields and retains its landscape features from the Civil War period, including what may be a wartime road trace.
The property probably figured in military operations during each battle, and may have included the Union Army's 6th Corps hospital on the Germanna Plank Road during the Battle of the Wilderness, she said.
It is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, she said. "A commercial development of this magnitude is by definition incompatible" with these "nationally significant" historic sites, she wrote. "The direct impact on the historic landscape cannot be mitigated through design and new landscape elements. The proposed development's impact on the battlefields would also be irreversible."
That is despite Wal-Mart's offer to set aside land near Wilderness Run for conservation, she wrote.
Kilpatrick also advised that Wal-Mart's 138,000-square-foot Supercenter will be visible from the park and from State Route 3 as motorists approach the Wilderness Corner crossroads, according to an analysis by the Piedmont Environmental Council and information from the Park Service and National Trust for Historic Preservation. She said the store will be visible from Ellwood, a historic house that serves as the visitor center for the Wilderness battlefield, once trees are cleared around Ellwood as the Park Service has planned to restore the Ellwood tract to its wartime appearance. Ellwood is about a mile from the store site, which sits atop a ridge north of Route 3 just west of Wilderness Run.
Kilpatrick noted that these visual studies conflict with Wal-Mart's assessment that its development wouldn't be seen by park visitors. The Department of Historic Resources recommends that Orange get an independent professional assessment to settle the question.
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The Orange County Planning Commission meets at 7 tonight in the Gordon Building, 112 W. Main St., Orange, to discuss the application from JDC Ventures for a special-use permit to build a Wal-Mart in the Wilderness area. No comments will be taken from the public.
EricLeave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
Wal-Mart says other sites don't meet needs
Wal-Mart says other suggested development sites in Orange fail to meet its criteria
BY ROBIN KNEPPER
The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 10, 2009
Seventy-two people told the Orange County Planning Commission May 21 what they thought about a proposal to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the Wilderness battlefield area.
Two-thirds of the speakers were against the plan, with almost all of them saying they were not opposed to Wal-Mart but to the location, a quarter-mile north of the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20.
The same plea was repeated over and over again: Build the Wal-Mart up the road, farther from the Civil War battlefield.
The comments indicated widespread belief that there is property farther west on State Route 3 that Wal-Mart could easily build on.
That issue could arise again as the Planning Commission prepares to discuss the special-use permit request tomorrow night.
Wal-Mart representatives say they have found no other commercially zoned land along the Route 3 corridor in Orange that meets the giant retailer's criteria for a building site.
According to Keith Morris, Wal-Mart's director of public affairs, the criteria include: a site that is already commercially zoned and easily accessible to customers; 20-30 acres suitable for the way its Supercenters and parking lots are generally situated, and in one parcel rather than adjoining properties that would need to acquired separately.
"We went through a long and exhaustive process finding the store location," Morris said. "We've looked at all that was out there. Some parcels were very small, some had residential or agricultural zoning. We didn't want to go to Orange County with a plan that would conflict with where they want development to occur."
PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS
The Orange Supercenter is proposed for 19.5 acres of a 51.5-acre site on the north side of Route 3 that has been zoned commercial since 1973.
Those who oppose the proposed location have suggested other possibilities, including 20 acres of commercially zoned land behind the Bloom supermarket across from the entrance to Lake of the Woods.
According to the property owner's representative, Wal-Mart rejected that site because of its long and narrow configuration and lack of direct access from Route 3.
Realtor Adrianna Cowan-Waddy has proposed three adjacent parcels north of StellarOne bank. They total 19 acres and adjacent land might come on the market, Waddy said, but the parcels are separately owned.
Several miles west on Route 3, A&K Development has a new commercial development between Wilderness Shores and Somerset Farm subdivisions. According to President Mansour Azimipour, up to six pad sites totaling 9 acres are planned closer to Route 3 and five more sites on the north side total 15 acres. The two sides of the property are bisected by A&K Boulevard.
"I asked a real estate agent to talk to Wal-Mart," Azimipour said recently. "He told me that Wal-Mart was only interested in the property they had and if it didn't work out, they were out of Orange."
There is plenty of land along the Route 3 corridor with agricultural, industrial and residential zoning, including several thousand acres owned by the King family in the area near the proposed Wal-Mart site. All would require rezoning for commercial development.
While Wal-Mart has to obtain a special-use permit to build on the proposed site, that process is faster than a rezoning.
Charles "Chip" King has been proposing projects for the 2,000 acres his family owns for more than 30 years, without success. His latest proposal is Wilderness Crossing, a 900-acre mixed-use development to the north and west of the Wal-Mart site. It has been sitting on the shelf for the past two years while the Board of Supervisors focuses on the Wal-Mart plan.
REZONING PROS AND CONS
Dan Holmes, Orange County land-use director for the Piedmont Environmental Council, said there are 2,600 acres of undeveloped agriculturally zoned land along the Route 3 corridor that the county's comprehensive plan suggests for economic development or mixed use. He doesn't think rezoning some of that for commercial development would be a problem.
"Three members of the Board of Supervisors have been supportive of this project at one of the most sensitive places in the county," Holmes said. "What makes Wal-Mart think those same supervisors wouldn't bend over backwards to accommodate it and help it find other locations, especially since the county is under pressure nationally on this issue?"
According to David Grover, the county's director of community development, the special-use permit process benefits the county more than a rezoning because the county can put conditions on the permit the developer must follow. In this case, the county has asked for detailed traffic plans, environmental studies, a layout and design of the building compatible with the area, landscaping and screening and a view-shed analysis.
PARK SERVICE CONCERNS
Supporters of the Wal-Mart proposal note that the battlefield park lies south of Route 3 and that land around it is already home to dozens of commercial enterprises and thousands of private homes.
But John Hennessy, chief historian of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, said the proposed Wal-Mart and King developments would bring the "prospect of a new urban center juxtaposed next to a national park."
Hennessy said such development would bring increased traffic to Routes 3 and 20 and pressure to expand those roads through the park.
"We are very cautious about blasting roads through national parks," Hennessy said.
Park Service officials have opposed widening State Route 20 to four lanes on its present alignment and have opposed a new four-lane road proposed several years ago by King that would parallel the present road but still cross parkland.
"We recognize that over time we'll have the challenge of moving more traffic through the battlefield," Hennessy said.
"Sooner or later, the problem has to be solved. But that won't happen until all political and legal criteria are met, our objectives identified and we engage with VDOT, Orange County and developers in an open and honest planning process that says the Wilderness battlefield is a national treasure and deserves special consideration."
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The Orange County Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Gordon Building, 112 W. Main St., Orange, to discuss the application from JDC Ventures for a special-use permit to build a Wal-Mart in the Wilderness area. No comments will be taken from the public.
EricLeave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
Good point Jason. Next time you plan on doing some battlefield site seeing give me a call. I haven't visited many of these battlefields in over ten years and as sad as it is to say, I would like to see them again before I lose the opportunity.Sometimes I feel like we tend to be more hobby-oriented and less preservation-minded (i.e. people who go to the reenactment but ignore the battlefield itself).Leave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
I just arrived home after spending the last eight hours touring the battlefield for the first time. Sometimes I feel like we tend to be more hobby-oriented and less preservation-minded (i.e. people who go to the reenactment but ignore the battlefield itself). I cannot think of a better way to celebrate and honor the Memorial Day than this.Originally posted by Emmanuel Dabney View Post
From Saunders Field, "Gordon's Flank Attack" Trail, and the Widow Tapp Field, I've never seen such expansive land that cannot be of more historical and natural importance. It is hallowing to walk on pristine ground with few modern interferences.
Today I gained a sincere appreciation by learning a bit more and seeing the battlefield itself. I can only hope to encourage my fellow locals Virginians and forum members to be more participatory in preventing future urban development.
If only we had more Lee's on the front!Attached FilesLast edited by Shockoe Hill Cats; 01-04-2010, 10:12 AM.Leave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
I know we all have avoided the op-ed/letters to the editor in the Free-Lance Star but I will merely post the link to this one as it was written by the Authentic-Campaigner's own Drew Gruber: http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2...5242009/467961Leave a comment:
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Wal-Mart logic
I once asked a district manager what was the sense in building a new Wal-Mart 10 miles away when it would only draw our customers away.. His response was this, " say for example this store does a million a week now and when the new store opens this drops to 800k a week but the new store does 500k, though one store might lose 200k the total company has just increased sales by 300k.. The corporate office looks at the big picture and not individual stores.. "
Now the protect my butt clause :) All financial figures are strictly hypothetical and not based on an actual store... LOL..Leave a comment:
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Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!
Just to follow up:
Three Authentic-Campaigner members were at the meeting last night: Jason Spellman, Drew Gruber, and myself. We were joined by two alum and a current student of Drew's and my undergraduate program. Besides the children dragged by their parents or however they got there, we were the youngest folks there. Kudos to my friends of this forum and not for making it out.
Drew and I both spoke against the Wal-Mart and three other padsites on this site. I think the Free Lance Star article does an overall nice job of summary but I want to issue my own "Job well done" to my employer the National Park Service: Russ Smith, Superintendent of Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Park and a representative from the National Parks Conservation Association were present. In addition, the National Trust's Robert Neiwig was present as was a representative (I wish I could remember his name as he was GREAT) from the Piedmont Enviornmental Council of Virginia. Of course, there were a host of residents of the county most against but of course some in support of the proposed special use permit.
I will yield the balance of my web space to the Free Lance Star article posted above.Leave a comment:
Leave a comment: