Walmart: Stay Off the Gravel

The public was told in no uncertain terms to stay off the future Walmart property at Tuesday's Conservation Commission meeting.

The meeting concerned a stop-work order issued to Della Concrete and BVS 5401 Investors, the limited liability company Ceruzzi Holdings created to develop the site for Walmart, on Feb. 22 over closure activities at the former city gravel pit. The city's order was followed March 12 with a second one by the state Department of Environemental Protection.

Della apparently failed to use erosion controls stipulated by the commission and silt made its way into some intermittent streams on the edge of the property in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act. According to the North Adams Transcript, the commission approved a modification of the stop-work order to allow Della to comply with the DEP's demands but stopped short of removing the entire order.

Instead, new Chairman Jason Moran wants a site visit of the property and the area in particular before the next meeting. Jay Sabin, the local attorney for Walmart, said the public would only be allowed along on the visit with permission from the owner. Carol Scully of Adams, who tried to get the commission to discuss what she described as vernal pools was told to stay off the private property when she admitted having taken pictures there.

According to the Transcript, a fence is going to be installed around the site because of unstable areas; there's one up already near the jug handle to turn into Hodges Cross Road.

While one might consider a site visit with a quorum of city officials an open meeting, Mass. General Law doesn't agree.

'Meeting,' any corporal convening and deliberation of a governmental body for which a quorum is required in order to make a decision at which any public business or public policy matter over which the governmental body has supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power is discussed or considered; but shall not include any on-site inspection of any project or program.

 Bummer. Where's my telephoto lens?

Round 2: Walmart Headed Back to Planning Board

Walmart representatives will be back before the North Adams Planning Board on Monday night with more detailed plans for the Super Center proposed for the city's old gravel yard.

Planners had requested more information on site elevation and a more Colonial looking exterior for the massive box store. The mega-retailer had been slated to appear before the board in February but asked for postponement because the plans couldn't be drawn up in time.

Monday's meeting is expected to draw a crowd similar in size to the standing-room only attendance at Walmart's first appearance with the board in January. The discount chain has mailed another flurry of postcards to area residents urging them to write letters of support to local newspapers and to attend this coming meeting.

NorthAdamsFirst.com, created by city residents concerned over the effects of such a large Walmart on existing business, traffic and the environment, are also urging residents to attend the meeting and ask questions to assure they're informed.

The site's developer, acting as BVS 5401, is requesting five permits related to the construction and operation of a major retailer.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the City Council chambers.

Protestors Bane of Big Boxer

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — One of our Facebook friends pointed us to this recent posting on stopping Walmart stores on a Columbia Business School blog "Public Offering."

Paul Ingram, a Columbia professor, has done studies of Walmart's reception in communities and how that's affected its plans. The result was surprising: 65 percent of its proposed new stores were canceled between 1998 and 2005 because of less-than-welcoming communities.

Even though the global discounter made over $400 billion in 2008, local antagonism can put the brakes on construction.

Building a new retail outlet is not cheap. A store location encompassing tens of thousands of square feet can cost up to $10 million to build. Added to that, the hunt for viable real estate is fraught with uncertainties, particularly when it comes to community support.

 Walmart uses cheaper filings with city and town governments to measure the degree of opposition. The posting doesn't say how it determines support (that may be in Ingram's 50-page study linked to the posting) but we're guessing petitions and pizza parties similar to those being used in North Adams.

It does shatter the mythology that only a hardy few (like Greenfield and parts of Vermont) have been able to stall the global giant. It appears Walmart dips its toes into the water before diving in.

The Many Faces of Walmart

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City Councilor Keith Bona sent us these renderings and photos he found online showing that the mega-retailer's changed its facade more than once to accommodate local conditions.

"As you know I am in favor of the new Walmart," Bona wrote us. "However, I support community input, and found their first concept of the building plain and ugly compared to other developments I have seen."

The Planning Board, too, on Monday night disliked Walmart's new prototype (close to  that above) and asked the company to come back with a more suitable New England look, as it did for its current store in the city and as Super Stop & Shop had done. They like the whole modular concrete and recycled paper facade (yes, paper) but the desert look left them dry.

Walmart's rep at the meeting, attorney Jay Sabin, said reconfiguring the roof line would be expensive. More expensive than reconfiguring a section of Curran Highway to MassHighway standards? Likely not. If Walmart wants to cover 14 acres with pavement and buildings, the least it can do is put up something halfway decent. We can't expect 100 percent — there's only so much you can do with a giant cardboard box.

More Walmart

 Below: Walmart's white roof and skylights designed to save energy. The new Walmart would have 160 skylights.

Links to Previous Stories

This blog is designed to cover all aspects of the Walmart Super Center proposal, including links to outside sources. To start, here are the stories so far in chronological order:

Super Duper Wally World?

Word is a Walmart Supercenter is headed our way.  According to a report in the North Adams Transcript, the multinational retailer has filed plans at North Adams City Hall for a 160,000 square-foot building at the city's old gravel bank.

Facebook Group Wants to Unfriend Walmart

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A Facebook group for local residents unhappy with news that a Walmart Supercenter was headed our way has more than 200 friends and counting.

North Adams Residents Raise Questions About Walmart Plans

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — More than two dozen people gathered at the Cup & Saucer on Saturday morning to express their concerns over the construction of a Walmart Supercenter a few miles from Main Street.

For or Against Walmart? There's a Meeting For That

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There'll be dueling meetings about Walmart on Thursday night as both supporters and opponents have planned gatherings to promote their views on the mega-discount chain.

Walmart Opposers Call for Hearing Postponement

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A community group questioning the construction of a Walmart Super Center is asking the Planning Board to postpone its Monday hearing on the massive project.

WAMC's Story on Walmart