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

Residents Sue Developer, County To Stop Wal-Mart

  • Al Norman
  • January 23, 2011
  • No Comments

A Tennessee developer is trying to build 204,000 s.f. Wal-Mart superstore across from the Clearbrook, Virginia Elementary School. But a group called Citizens for Smart Growth hopes to teach a few lessons to HolRob Investments, the developer, and the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. The defendants tried to have the citizen’s lawsuit dismissed, but their motion was denied by the court, and the project is heading to a Circuit Court judge on March 12th. The CSG group charges that the project’s review process was collapsed into just six weeks, ending in a 4-1 vote by the County Board last October. The citizen’s group wants the case remanded back to the County’s Planning Commission, with a full traffic study to be done this time. The group has retained Richmond, Virginia attorney Phillip Strother, who also served as the victorious lead counsel for citizens in Front Royal, Virginia before the Virginia Supreme Court. According to the Cave Spring Connection newspaper, CSG has to raise at least $15,000 to pursue their legal appeal. The residents point out that the land Wal-Mart wants was intended for a “village concept” in the county’s Overlay District guidelines. The Clearbrook Overlay District Concept calls for small commercial and retail development similar in feeling to a village street — the antithesis of a Wal-Mart supercenter. “The first time the overlay is questioned the county rolls [over],” one CSG member complained. “Some folks have said we’re doing away with the overlay,” the County’s Administrator said “But they’re complying with the overlay” by seeking the special-use permit it allows,” he added. “All of us hoped for more of a type of development” in style and size, the Administrator said — things like doctor’s offices, sit-down restaurants and small office buildings. The county granted a special use permit to Wal-Mart that allowed them to completely ignore the 50,000 s.f. size cap suggested in the overlay zone — and instead build 4 times larger. But the major issue is traffic, CSG says — the fact that the state Department of Transportation never did a final traffic study. CSG also has produced its own rendering of what a “Clearbrook Old Towne Village” concept should look like, with “brown and stone exteriors…pitched green roofs… a kiosk [that guides] folks to Tanglewood and Valley View Malls…sidewalks that allow people to easily travel through the village…trees around the village buffer the development from the adjacent Blue Ridge Parkway.” In approving a Wal-Mart supercenter, and throwing out the size cap, the county clearly pulled an obvious bait ‘n switch on local residents.

In late October, when Wal-Mart received County approval, the retailer predicted that work on the store would begin in the first quarter of 2007. Wal-Mart revealed that approval of the new supercenter would result in the closing of a smaller Wal-Mart discount store about a mile north of the supercenter site. The “old” Wal-Mart is 17 years old — about the end of its lifespan for the retailer. Wal-Mart claims it is just leasing the existing store, and would have to negotiate with the landlord, yet city tax records, indicate the building is owned by “Wal-Mart Stores Inc.” So this store will be added to the more than 300 “dark stores” Wal-Mart already has on the market. The immediate goal of Citizens for Smart Growth is to raise enough money to carry on their legal challenge to the county’s flawed process. Anyone wishing to help the group financially should email: [email protected]

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 21 hours ago

IN TWO county elections, “controlled growth” voters on Maryland’s shore tossed out a “slew”of pro-sprawl county commissioners. Anti-big box sentiment reaches political “fervor.” https://t.co/FpCFl6T090

Read More
Al Norman 21 hours ago

AMZN offers warehouse workers $3,000 to quit their job—in the middle of a union vote in Alabama—so they can hire anti-union workers. Illegal bribes. https://t.co/lCRJ5du4uX

Read More
Al Norman 2 days ago

WALMART mini warehouses are coming. No shoppers. The mini uses “robots & employees to quickly complete online orders for delivery or curbside pickup.” “WMT will be seen more like a service,” with health clinics & financial service. WMT just copies AMZN. https://t.co/kA2jOQY8p2

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.