Several activists from Pullman, Washington contacted Sprawl-Busters to correct our earlier story about Pullman, in which we incorrectly moved the town to Idaho. Pullman is close to the Idaho border, but actually is in Washington state. Here is the report submitted to Newsflash about the battle in Pullman: “Wal-Mart is planning to build a Wal-Mart Superstore in the city of Pullman. The planned Bishop Blvd. store location will be a gigantic 223,000 square feet and have a parking lot for approximately 1000 cars. PARD assesses the proposed store to be a threat to neighboring wetlands, businesses, the Bishop Place retirement/assisted living community, Pullman Regional Hospital, and the city cemetery, thus raising vital concerns about to public safety, health, and financial stability. To compound this issue, the city “to date” has refused to call a public meeting on the matter, and in spite of numerous requests to the Director of Public Works, it does not appear as if he will refer the review of Wal-Mart’s site plan (and consideration of its “fiscal impact on the city”) to the Board of Adjustment for a public hearing, which city code gives him the power to do. PARD as a group does not feel as though the city of Pullman, nor the Palouse region as a whole, can support a Wal-Mart Superstore coming to the the area. We have collected information from numerous sources which indicate that Wal-Mart, coming to a town like Pullman, often results in financial trouble for the city as a whole. Further, this issue is not an isolated “Pullman problem.” It represents a serious impact to the city of Moscow, Idaho as well. Moscow, a short eight miles away, already has a Wal-Mart which is sure to close shortly after the Wal-Mart Superstore is opened, thus increasing unemployment in the area.”
PARD is looking for citizen help to overcome the Wal-Mart supercenter proposal: “Please consider making a donation, which will be used to hire professional legal help and provide support for advertising, petition drives, and various task forces seeking open, democratic discussion and review of Wal-Mart’s site plan proposal by the City of Pullman. All donations are confidential but not tax deductible. Checks should be made out to Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development (or PARD) and mailed to: Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development, P.O. Box 641, Pullman, WA 99163.”
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