Walmart defends proposed store
Published: May 7, 2009
In a statement released this week by Walmart Stores, Inc., executives said the 138,000-square foot Walmart store project, which as proposed, would be built near the intersection of Route 3 and Route 20 in Orange County, is-and has been from the beginning-“in keeping with the unique character of Orange County.“
According to the release, it is the right of preservationist groups to voice opposition to the project, but “they consistently fail to mention some basic facts.“
What Walmart executives claim have been omitted by preservationists are that nearly one-third of the proposed site will be placed in conservation easement; that the store will be close to a quarter of a mile from Route 3, behind extensive buffering and landscaping; that already in the area are two strip malls, a number of commercial stores and a major four-lane highway between the proposed store and the National Park; that the Walmart property has been zoned for commercial uses for 24 years and is designated for commercial uses in the county’s Comprehensive Plan; that the same site runs the risk of development for other commercial uses without design and aesthetic controls; and that a recent poll conducted by an independent firm for Walmart found there is overwhelming support within Orange County for the store and that the proposed store would not negatively impact the Civil War sites.
“Our research has consistently shown that people in this community want additional retail options and that the new store will not diminish the important historical attractions in the area,“ the statement said.
Meanwhile, information released by the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition, a group of nine preservationist and activist organizations, claims the Walmart stores’ close proximity to historic areas threatens the integrity of the area.
Instead, the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition has proposed a delay in the county application and permitting process so that an alternate site for commercial development can be found. Recently, the Orange County Board of Supervisors said they would not support the coalition’s request to delay the Walmart project.
An Orange County Planning Commission public hearing on Walmart’s application for a special use permit is expected to be May 21.
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Reader Reactions
Orange County is ready and waiting for this Walmart to Open its doors
“OrangeResident”...think you need to red…oops! read the post “slowly.“ I did not say their profits stayed in a foreign land. Sam Walton started with “Walton’s 5 & Dime and later went to “Wal-Mart” with a hyphen…now! after Sam pasted away in 1992 the company moved the Purchasing Department to China…can you tell me when tat hyphen wus dropped and tat single star appeared?
If they put 95% Chinese items in their stores in CHINA and they have 50% to 70 % Chinese items in the stores in America…are they trying to get the nice people of China a job so they can buy EITHER American and Chinese made items….i think not.
oh! ther the only American company with a “Department of People.“
I know where your coming from with the turnips and nincompoops in D. C…i quit calling it Washington back in 1963 after Kennedy wus shot. George Washington serve his country for 8 years and went home….in his farewell speech he gave the reasons why…to bad the turnips in tat town can’t red…oops! read. Have a gr8 week and remember…your “George Washington” floats around your town 6 to 8 times before it leaves but if they all go to a big block store like Wal*Mart they all leave at 00:15 each night and if tat store takes in $300,000 a day….tats a washtub full of “Washington’s” tat are gone. Your town, state, and country need every “Washington” to survive…he can’t do tat if he is stuck in a foreign bank. Made in America…priceless!
Nice history lesson, and buying American made is what we should all try to do. But it is practically impossible “madmilker”, so you need to remember that the horse is already out of the barn.
It was our nation, and those “we the people” elected that passed NAFTA and other legislation that pushed for the global economy, which has brought us to where we are today. It is because US companies RAN out of our country because of lawsuits and legislation, and yes, greed. They could move operations overseas and cut operating costs in half, and sell it back to us for less. Believe me, I’ve lived long enough too and understand well what has happened.
Wal-Mart did not do this. WE THE PEOPLE did. I’ve read through all of Wal-Mart’s SEC filings, and now I understand why they are a thriving company, with or without a bad economy, Wal-Mart is going to thrive. You are wrong to think that all their profit stays overseas. Read all their SEC filings and you will understand better.
The Chinese currency is going up, not because of Wal-Mart, but because their government promotes all businesses well, and regulates it well.
And we the little people have a right to survive too, and do what we have to do, until our country gets straightened out. But that won’t happen until we replace nearly every last one that is currently in office.
People in America need to realize jus what got America in this shape…”cheap” yes so-call cheap items from a foreign land.
quote*Wal-Mart firmly believes in local procurement. We recognize that by purchasing quality products, we can generate more job opportunities, support local manufacturing and boost economic development. Over 95% of the merchandise in our stores in China is sourced locally. We have established partnerships with nearly 20,000 suppliers in China. *end quote!
Now! if there be 182 country’s making items for the world to buy and they have only 5% of the pie in China…duh! This company makes the nice people of China support their currency(yuan) by keeping it in their country working for the people there…. but with the “yuan” going up in value and the US dollar going down…all the foreign items that the American consumer buys thinking it is cheap has went up in price.
People…its all about the currency and to keep a currency strong you got to keep it floating around the country you live in so it can work for you. For the past 12 years all them US dollars are being shipped overseas to a foreign bank and with the American worker not making anything for the foreigner to buy the “we the people” have to turn to the “second” largest employer in America(Uncle Sam) to sell “we the people” debt in order to get all them dollars back!
50 years ago a foreigner would had given their left nut for a US dollar or a Hershey’s chocolate bar and today the same foreigner has got Uncle Sam and the American consumer by both all the while Hershey is moving the chocolate factory to Mexico. Wake up! America and think “MADE IN AMERICA.”
quote*“Considering that there are over 30,000 ships at sea this morning,“ writes James Carlton, director of the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program, in an e-mail, “the total number of organisms and species in this global ‘bioflow’ on the morning your readers read your piece could be staggering - billions of individuals, and thousands of species.“
Indeed, scientists have long considered ballast water the primary way invasive aquatic organisms are introduced. From the zebra mussel’s arrival in the Great Lakes, to an American jellyfish severely disrupting Black Sea fisheries, the potential costs of accidental introduction of a species to new homes can be tremendous. Aquatic invasives cost the US $9 billion yearly, according to estimates by David Pimentel, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Zebra and quagga mussels (a cousin to the zebra) alone cost the $1 billion annually.*end quote!
tat is $9 billion a year in hidden taxes to all Americans…
cheap ain’t chic and it cost America….........jobs!
Amen “Orange Resident”
Bev Slaughter
Thank you Wal*Mart!! And thank you for standing up for us who have let all know that we want you here.
Thank you for the jobs that will come, the gas you will save us from going to Fredericksburg and Culpeper, and the progress this community will be making.
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