Sprawl-Busters has received the following report from the community of Crystal Lake, Illinois regarding an unwanted Wal-Mart supercenter: “I am a resident in the Cary, Illinois area that lives right on the border by the City of Crystal Lake. At this time, there is a proposal for a Super-Walmart to be constructed on a Crystal Lake property. The proposed Wal-Mart is located only approximately 100′ from the property line of the residential Cary homes, which has us all very upset. The Wal-Mart developer came in with no berming, landscaping, or screening behind the building. When residents voiced their concerns, the Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission said there should be some provided. Wal-Mart is now proposing a 6′ hedge — yippie. But we are not happy with the City’s lack of consideration of the neighboring properties, and are trying to do all we can to fight this. Wal-Mart representatives stated that most of the deliveries to the Super Walmart would be during the day, but when the Commission put into their motion that the hours of delivery be limited from 7am to 10pm, the Wal-Mart attorneys objected and stated that it was unacceptable since they cannot control their distributors. I know that Wal-Mart can make their distributors do whatever the heck they want to. I am afraid that there will be deliveries all through the night, with trucks beeping and running through all hours. Maybe if we can show the City that they are “sugar coating” items such as this, that they are doing the same with others. Lighting is also a concern, they keep saying that they’ll reduce the spillage onto the
adjacent properties, but I am extremely pessimistic. I am hoping that we can defeat this Wal-Mart just as they did in other communities.”
There is no way to buffer a huge Wal-Mart supercenter from abutting residential properties. You can berm it, you can fence it — but it’s like trying to put a tuxedo on Frankenstein’s monster. Underneath, it’s still a monster. The quality of life for such neighbors, and the value of their homes, will both decline. For stories about what a supercenter does to the neighborhood, get a copy of “The Case Against Wal-Mart” by calling 1-877 DUNK WAL. For local contacts in the Crystal Lake area, contact [email protected].
