Our Opinion

The lead story in this week’s Review reports a survey commissioned by Walmart reveals a majority of county residents favor the retail giant building a store in eastern Orange County.
Walmart officials have submitted a special use permit to build a 143,000 square-foot supercenter on 19 acres of a larger tract already zoned for commercial use along Route 3.
Project proponents laud the company’s efforts to locate in Orange County, hailing it as an economic generator that’s sure to bring needed jobs and tax revenue to the local economy.
Those opposed suggest it will desecrate nearby Civil War battlefields, accelerate Orange County’s loss of individuality, ruin our rural character, open the floodgates to future development and clog local highways.
Not surprisingly, Walmart’s numbers indicate 61 percent of 300 voters polled said they supported a new Walmart on the north side of Route 3 near its intersection with Route 20. And, 74 percent of those surveyed said the county lacked shopping options.
Let’s look at those numbers. Three hundred people were sampled. That’s roughly the turnout of a critical local public hearing (subdivision ordinance change, major rezoning request, school construction public hearing). A fair sample, but hardly all-inclusive. The data could be skewed by where the respondents live. Certainly those who live in the county’s eastern end will have different feelings about the project than those who live at the county’s western end.
Still, many of those asked favored the store.
Of those surveyed, 74 percent said Orange lacked shopping options. That data really shouldn’t be in dispute. If it were, why do so many of us visit Charlottesville, Culpeper and Fredericksburg to shop?
The next numbers, to us, are the most interesting.
According to Walmart’s data, only 36 percent felt the proposed site would adversely impact neighboring Civil War battlefields and historic sites. Realistically, we’re suprised the number is that high.
Let’s think about this for a minute. We’ve got a Sheetz, a McDonald’s, two strip malls and a 7-Eleven in the very shadow of the battlefield and yet some people still feel the proposed Walmart down the street is will adversely affect the battlefields? Sorry. We’re not buying it. On top of the aforementioned commercial development, you’ve got the county’s largest residential concentration (Lake of the Woods) bordering the battlefield and yet a Walmart, which is further away, would be inappropriate?
Realistically, all of our ground is hallowed. Everywhere we look is richly historic. Virginia is the Mother of Presidents, the birthplace of the Constitution and of the nation. If we were to appropriately honor that history we’d never ever turn another shovel of dirt.
But we can’t because it’s not practical nor realistic.
We need jobs. We need revenue. Route 3 is the right place for a Walmart whether their survey says so or not.