Communities fighting retailer have varying issues

Officials need to be careful when considering whether to deny a zone change for Wal-Mart, an activist says.

By JEANNE STARMACK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

CANFIELD — People who don’t want a Wal-Mart in Canfield aren’t waiting to be asked.

They’re very vocal about their opposition to the huge store.

Sure, there are some people in the township and city who would welcome the giant retailer.

Would it bring more traffic? U.S. Route 224 is clogged with cars anyhow, they’ve said, and a Wal-Mart Supercenter with a grocery store on land behind businesses there isn’t likely to make much difference.

They like the idea, too, of not having to travel out of Canfield to find places to shop — places like Wal-Mart, that is, where they can save money.

But the phones rang for days in township and city offices when news first broke that Wal-Mart had been to the Mahoning County planning commission about a zone change from residential to business for part of the property it’s eyeing. The site is behind the old Harley Davidson location and the Taco Bell.

Township officials and even the mayor of the city got calls, too — mostly from people who don’t want the store.

The mayor has no say, since he has nothing to do with the township. But members of the township zoning commission and the three trustees appear wary of allowing the store to come in.

Every community that fights a Wal-Mart doesn’t have the same set of issues.

Salem Township didn’t have a zoning issue. Instead, there was an annexation that the city of Salem wanted and the Columbiana County commissioners granted.

In Hermitage, Pa., minor zoning issues were resolved and business owners who’d protested had to face the inevitable.

Canfield, in a fight with Wal-Mart, stands on more solid ground, at least to start.

Wal-Mart must get the approval of the trustees after seeking recommendations for a zone change from the county planning commission and the township’s zoning commission. The trustees will consider those recommendations, and there will also be a public hearing before their vote.

Wal-Mart has been to the county commission once already but withdrew its application when that board appeared ready to deny recommending the change.

After listening to all those residents who’ve spoken out against the store, the public officials appear to be leaning heavily against a zone change. Those residents seem likely to win — at least in that battle.

The war, however, might not be over. Wal-Mart could appeal a denial to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Would Canfield Township have a legal leg to stand on in a court case? Jon Ulicney, chairman of the township zoning commission, isn’t so sure.

He pointed out that the area Wal-Mart wants to build in has heavy commercial development. Even though a county land use plan says residential zoning is the best use of the property Wal-Mart wants to be rezoned, Ulicney isn’t certain a court would be convinced.

“It’s hard to say that, because it’s right up against the turnpike, and with all that business there ... .”

A possible court case is one reason why local communities and their officials have to be careful when they deal with Wal-Mart, says Al Norman, a Greenfield, Mass., resident who led a grass-roots and media campaign to stop a Wal-Mart in his town.

Wal-Mart was ready in 1993 to build a store on 63 acres with the approval of the Greenfield council.

Norman started his campaign and a petition drive to either force the town council to rescind its votes on zoning amendments or let the voters decide.

Voters got the final say and stopped the Wal-Mart.

Now, Norman continues activism against the giant stores, in part with the Web site walmartwatch.com.

There are criteria community officials should use in deciding whether to grant a zone change, he said.

And courts, he said, don’t like to supersede the judgment of local officials in interpreting a community’s bylaws.

“I always caution there’s a reason for property being residential,” he said.

“Is this property abutted by homes? From a zoning perspective, it’s a terrible mix to put it next to any homes. They’d have a tough time selling their property, and the 12-month period of a Wal-Mart construction is hell for these people. If residential property is abutting the project, it should be denied.”

There are homes along Raccoon Road, which is at the western boundary of the property Wal-Mart wants. One home directly abuts the property, said a neighborhood resident.

Norman said impact on surrounding properties is a critical consideration.

He said there’s a reason why the county’s land use plan says the property should be residential.

“Usually, the township doesn’t want encroachment, so they keep commercial [development] on a strip.”

Traffic, Norman said, is another consideration. Officials could ask Wal-Mart to pay for a traffic study, and the township could choose the traffic engineer to do it, he said.

A study on the impact of big-box stores on abutting residences’ property values is another possibility. Valuations fall when Wal-Mart comes in, he said.

The township would run into trouble, Norman said, if Wal-Mart can convince the court that officials’ decisions were arbitrary and capricious.

“But a carefully written denial will help,” he said. “So they need good reasons for saying ‘no.’”

Wal-Mart has said it will go back to the county planning commission, but is taking its time in revising its application for the zone change.

Ulicney said he is trying to stay unbiased about the retailer. He said he tries to look at the impact Wal-Mart has had on areas.

“Was there a benefit? Salem grew up with small businesses,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I support it. But you have to keep an open mind.”