Skip to content
  • (413) 834-4284
  • [email protected]
  • 21 Grinnell St, Greenfield, Massachusetts
Search
Close
Sprawl-busters
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact
  • Uncategorized

After Three Years, Still No Wal-Mart

  • Al Norman
  • December 20, 2007
  • No Comments

There was a time when Wal-Mart could waltz into a small town, file papers for a zoning permit, and be ready for construction within three months. Now, because of citizen opposition, the process can drag on for three years or longer — with no guarantee of success. Such is the case in North Cornwall, Pennsylvania. In December, 2004: Wal-Mart submits plans to build supercenter on Cornwall Road. One year later, officials in North Cornwall Township gave the project a conditional use permit to build store. Two years after application, in December, 2006, local residents against the project filed an appeal of the conditional use permit and zoning permits the township gave Wal-Mart. Three years later, December, 2007, North Cornwall supervisors gave initial approval to Wal-Mart land development plan. This week, Lebanon County Judge John C. Tylwalk ruled against citizens trying to block the project. The Judge upheld the conditional use permit. Sprawl-Busters wrote about North Cornwall on June 10, 2007. We reported that lawyers for the Citizens for Responsible Growth (CRG) told the Lebanon Daily News that the township had failed to act in time to challenge a zoning decision that renders the land Wal-Mart needs to build as not properly zoned for retail uses. The 95 acres of land Wal-Mart eyed was rezoned to Commercial in 2003, but has now switched back to office/institutional and agricultural, according to the citizen’s group. “Our position is that we have a deemed approval, and the underlying zoning ordinance amendments never occurred,” the group told the Daily News. “Accordingly, at this time, the properties remain zoned office and institutional and agricultural.” CRG filed a legal challenge to zoning amendments adopted in 2003 by the township, which opened the Cornwall Road area to commercial development. When the land Wal-Mart now wants was rezoned four years ago, the township failed to comply with the legal notice, advertising and procedural requirements, rendering the zoning change null and void, CRG says. The group argues that the C2 General Commercial zoning is inappropriate for Cornwall Road, and should more appropriately be ‘Office & Institutional or a ‘Neighborhood Business District,’ which restricts building size, hours of operations and prohibits gas stations and other high traffic businesses from coming to Cornwall Road. The Judge’s ruling this week is not the final word. The court’s decision was limited to whether the permit granted by the township was proper. “Although we understand some citizens of this county question the necessity of a third Wal-Mart in Lebanon County, we are not asked to address this issue,” the Judge wrote. The lawyer for CRG, Dwight Yoder, told the Patriot News, “It’s one step in a long process.” The township’s lawyer told the newspaper the battles over Wal-Mart have not been good for North Cornwall. “My personal belief is the entire Wal-Mart saga has been bad for the township,” the lawyer said. “One thing I’m certain of is that this is a very passionate issue for a lot of people,” he said. So passionate, that in the 2007 township supervisors’ election, a Wal-Mart supporter running for office was narrowly defeated by a Wal-Mart opponent.

Judge Tylwalk still has not ruled on challenges to zoning amendments adopted by the township in 2003 that re-zoned the site of the planned Wal-Mart for commercial use. CRG states that the township failed to give proper notice before changing zoning along Cornwall Road. This year, township supervisors re-adopted the township’s zoning ordinance, including the section designating the Wal-Mart property as commercial. But CRG says the conditional use permit the township granted in 2005 was not valid because the zoning at the time was not valid. CRG hopes that if the judge rules in their favor on the zoning appeal, that Wal-Mart will have to start from square one in seeking a conditional use permit. Readers are urged to help the Lebanon County Citizens for Responsible Growth by sending a check to cover their legal costs to: Citizens for Responsible Growth, Box 1048, Lebanon, PA. 17042.

Like this article?

Share on facebook
Share on Facebook
Share on twitter
Share on Twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on Linkdin
Share on pinterest
Share on Pinterest
Al Norman

Al Norman

Al Norman first achieved national attention in October of 1993 when he successfully stopped Wal-Mart from locating in his hometown of Greenfield, Massachusetts. Almost 3 decades later they is still not Wal-Mart in Greenfield. Norman has appeared on 60 Minutes, was featured in three films, wrote 3 books about Wal-Mart, and gained widespread media attention from the Wall Street Journal to Fortune magazine. Al has traveled throughout the U.S., Barbados, Puerto Rico, Ireland, and Japan, helping dozens of local coalitions fight off unwanted sprawl development. 60 Minutes called Al “the guru of the anti-Wal-Mart movement.”

Leave a comment

Find Us

  • 21 Grinnell St, Greenfield, MA
  • (413) 834-4284
  • [email protected]

Helpful Links

  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
Menu
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

CHRISTIAN SMALLS, FIRED AMZN WAREHOUSE WORKER, FILES RACE DISCRIMATION LAWSUIT. …

November 16, 2020

DUE TO THE SURGE IN CORONA CASES, WMT IS LIMITING SHOPPERS TO 5 PER 1,000 SF. A…

November 16, 2020

AMAZON RECENTLY ANNOUNCED FREE 1 HOUR GROCERY PICK UP FOR PRIME MEMBER ORDERS &g…

November 15, 2020

AFTER BEING REJECTED BY THE DEERFIELD, MA PLANNING BOARD, DOLLAR GENERAL APPEALS…

November 15, 2020

WILL TRUMP ALLOW ORACLE & WALMART TO INVEST IN TIK TOK? The deadline to ban …

November 14, 2020

AMAZON ACCUSED OF BREAKING ANTITRUST RULES IN EUROPE. “Data of 3rd-party sellers…

November 14, 2020

WALMART PET CARE NOW SELLING PET INSURANCE. My 3 year old mixed breed cat would …

November 13, 2020

WALMART’S GOING TO THE DOGS. 90 M OF ITS CUSTOMERS HAVE DOGS. You’d be Goofy not…

November 13, 2020

WALMART CASHIERS STILL LOOKING FOR A SEAT. They won a $65 M lawsuit in 2019, but…

November 12, 2020

4 DAYS BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION,THE CO-FOUNDER OF HOME DEPOT SAID: “Pres…

November 12, 2020

Recent Tweets

Al Norman 23 hours ago

NEW YORK CITY TO CANCEL CONTRACTS WITH TRUMP FOR SKATING RINKS & GOLF COURSE. “The president incited a rebellion against the United States government, a clearly unconstitutional act. That's unforgivable,” says NYC Mayor. https://t.co/JG85w7ky4p

Read More
Al Norman 24 hours ago

ATTORNEY GENERAL IN CT. BEGINS ANOTHER ANTI-TRUST PROBE OF AMZN E-BOOK BIZ, over its agreements with 5 of the nation’s largest book publishers. AMZN sells 3 out of 4 of all ebooks in America. https://t.co/KCI3VJIFrG

Read More
Al Norman 2 days ago

THIS WEEK NEW PPP LOANS OPEN FOR SMALL BIZ WITH PRIORITY FOR < 300 employees & 25% drop in gross receipts in any 3 months of 2020 vs 2019. Loans can be forgiven. https://t.co/RRgL7cZIBx

Read More

Ⓒ 2020 - All Rights Are Reserved

Design and Development by Just Peachy Web Design

Download Our Free Guide

Download our Free Guide

Learn How To Stop Big Box Stores And Fulfillment Warehouses In Your Community

The strategies written here were produced by Sprawl-Busters in 2006 at the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), mainly for citizen groups that were fighting Walmart. But the tips for fighting unwanted development apply to any project—whether its fighting Dollar General, an Amazon warehouse, or a Home Depot.

Big projects, or small, these BATTLEMART TIPS will help you better understand what you are up against, and how to win your battle.