Here are two short SOS messages sent to Sprawl-Busters within hours of each other today. The first is from Ripon, California: “Walmart is currently quietly seducing our local officials into building a Super Walmart near my house. This is a small 11,000 person community and I feel this will change our quality of life in this town forever.” The second note is from Elk Grove, California: “Wal-Mart wants to install a 24-Hr Supercenter in the center of our housing community. The lot [a rather large one] is zoned commercial, so in this regards such a store can be developed there. We simply don’t want a 24-hour single facility. The community is close to 1,000 homes and the majority seem not to want the store, based on our current petition drive so far. The plan just hit the City’s Planning Office and is in the 1st week of a 30-day review. After the review is complete the City will arrange for a Public Meeting/Comment session. We think this will occur in 1 to 2 months after the 30-day review. We are getting organized and today is our 1st pre-community meeting [arounf 40 people] where we’ll begin to form committees and in 2 weeks hold an all-community meeting at a local park.”
As I often say, all it takes is the shadow of a Wal-Mart to get resident upset. If you’d like to help out in Ripon or Elk Grove, contact [email protected].
