Walmart queried

After firing questions at Walmart representatives for nearly four hours Thursday, Orange County Planning Commission members decided they still needed more information before they could make a recommendation on Walmart’s application for a special use permit.
At their June 11 meeting, the planning commission requested additional information from consultants and planners on issues sparked by Walmart’s proposal to build a 138,000-square-foot supercenter just north of the intersection of Routes 3 and 20 in Orange County.
In response to questions from planning commission members, Walmart representatives provided information about traffic and environmental concerns. But the majority of discussion was centered on the proposed store’s proximity to nearby Wilderness Battlefield and other historic areas.
According to Walmart attorney Tom Kleine, Walmart planners met with VDOT engineers on several occasions to analyze VDOT traffic counts and projections at the intersection of Routes 3 and 20, first without a Walmart store, and then with the addition of a Walmart store. Kleine said to meet VDOT requirements, Walmart will make certain improvements along Route 3, including adding additional turn lanes. All of the roadway improvements would be constructed and funded by Walmart.
“We believe that what we’ve proposed is consistent with that VDOT has identified for that area,“ Kleine said.
In response to questions regarding environmental concerns and hazards, Kleine told planning commission members that environmental experts had researched environmental conditions and potential hazards from nearby colonial gold mining operations, but had not discovered evidence of abandoned gold mines on the site in their analyses. Similarly, Shannon Bell, of Bowman Consulting, a Walmart-hired engineering firm, said no gold mines were located on the site, according to the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.
“If we were to run across some issue, it would be remediated to be sure it didn’t have an adverse impact,“ Bell added.
Kleine said Walmart’s team of archaeologists, researchers, and consultants had studied the site intently through historic records, Department of Historic Resources files, use of metal detectors, shovel tests to conclude that “there was no significant evidence of historic value that would help shed light on that site.“
But when Department of Historic Resources Director of Community Services Bob Carter was interviewed by planning commission members, he said, “Walmart is on the battlefield.“
But what, exactly, is the battlefield? District 4 Planning Commissioner Donald Brooks asked Carter.
Carter said maps designed during a 1993 Congressional study of Civil War sites place a boundary on battlefield core areas, “where the forces truly hit, where people fought and where there was significant bloodshed,“ and study areas, in which encampments, hospitals and troop support would have been found. According to the 1993 study, the site on which Walmart aims to build is within the study area.
“This is where you would have found encampments and field hospitals,“ Carter explained. “The core area plus the study area equals the battlefield,“ he added.
Whether core area or study area, according to present-day designation, the land in question is-and has been for years-zoned for commercial use, District 3 Planning Commission member Eliott Fox said.
“I’ve been waiting to hear what we’re supposed to do with a piece of privately owned commercial property if this special use permit gets approved or not,“ Fox said. “Whether it’s passed or not, this piece of property is going to remain C2.“
“The point we’re trying to make is how it is zoned today and how you try to reconcile the significance of this land to the larger picture,“ Carter answered. “I can’t tell you how to respond to that.“
The planning commission will meet to discuss the matter again at a June 25 special meeting at 7 p.m. in the Gordon Building meeting room. At that meeting, the planning commission will likely make a decision on whether to recommend approval of the special use permit to the board of supervisors. Like the June 11 meeting, there will be no opportunity for public comment when the planning commission meets June 25.