Wal-Mart Discusses Local Store
2008-10-23
By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer
Representatives from Wal-Mart’s corporate offices met with members of the community Tuesday to discuss details of a proposed Wal-Mart store near the intersection of routes 3 and 20.
The LOW Civic Club hosted a panel consisting of engineers, planners, architects and traffic experts who fielded questions from a large crowd at the LOW Clubhouse. Wal-Mart Senior Manager for Public Affairs Kelly Hobbs led a presentation of the proposed 140,000-square foot retail and grocery store.
The store will take up 19 acres of a 50-acre parcel on the north side of Route 3, and is already zoned for commercial use. But the recent adoption of a large retail use ordinance into Orange County’s code means and retail establishment in excess of 60,000 square feet must submit a special use permit, and the public hearing process.
Tom Kleine, the project’s land use attorney explained that a conditional use permit had yet to be filed. Traffic, architectural and design plans require finalization before a site plan can be submitted and special use permit acquired.
What planners know for sure, according to Kleine, is that there will be a 1,200-foot setback, and a 100-foot landscaping and vegetative buffer between the store’s front and the right-of-way at Route 3. And, Kleine promised, the planned Wal-Mart will have design features which comply with design guidelines and represent new architectural ideas for the big box chain.
“What we’ve done in working with the community is look at that location and try to introduce a Wal-Mart like you’ve never seen before,” Kleine told the crowd. Awnings, canopies, and walkways will be features of the store’s design, he said. And those areas may serve double duty. “With respect to the historic area we’re in in Orange County, we proposed using some of these areas to provide historic exhibits,” Kleine said.
The project has been in the planning stages for some time. And in that time, Wal-Mart representatives have met with community members and county officials to gain an understanding of the county’s needs, according to Hobbs.
“We have been working with the county for well over a year,” Hobbs said. “We have heard from people who represent you, and who represent the best interests of the county.”
Hobbs told audience members that project planners were aware of community concerns about a big-box, national chain retailer locating close to historic sites in Orange. But Hobbs also addressed the economic benefits Wal-Mart could bring to the county.
“We know Orange County would like to see an increase in tax revenue. We hope to be able to bring that to your area,” Hobbs said. As planned, she added, the Wal-Mart store would employ about 300 people; the average hourly wage for those employees would be about $11.
Following the presentation, Hobbs took questions from audience members about the proposed store’s location, lighting, environmental impact, traffic impact, and signage.
A number of audience members wondered why Wal-Mart had selected a site so near to historic areas, including Wilderness Battlefield. Wouldn’t the nearby King property be a more appropriate location, they asked.
“[The King Property] is not an option for us,” Hobbs said. “We did look at other sites, and we feel like this is better for the county, for the community and for the company. Further, she said, the site of the proposed Wal-Mart is within an area designated by the county for economic development, and has had a commercial zoning classification for about 20 years. And the architecture and design of the store would be respectful of nearby historic sites, she said. “We’ve worked very hard to create a store the people of Orange County can be proud of,” Hobbs added.
Kleine explained to someone in the crowd with concerns for the environment that multi-level testing will be completed prior to site plan application.
An audience member wondered about what sort of signage would go out on Route 3. Kleine said there were plans for a small monument-type sign near the entrance proposed close to the Route 3 and Route 20 intersection to identify the Wal-Mart. But as additional tenants “that may come along later on some of the outparcels” between the Wal-Mart site and Route 3, there could be additional signs, he said.
There were concerns from the crowd about a water tower being placed near the store. There will be a water storage unit, Hobbs confirmed, for fire flow and domestic use, but plans call for a storage tank about 24 feet above the ground-which is lower than the Wal-Mart rooftop. Many of the crowd’s questions were about traffic issues related to the Wal-Mart.
“We need to make sure that traffic works and VDOT signs off on it,” Hobbs said. “That’s another reason we have not filed yet.” Current plans include the addition of a right-turn lane off of west-bound Route 3 and into the Wal-Mart entrance, Wal-Mart panelists said. That right-turn lane would continue westward to another “right-in, right-out” entry and exit point further down Route 3. The expense of any highway improvements would be assumed by Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart representatives expect to meet with community members again, once the site plan and special use permit application have been filed. But the date of that meeting won’t be determined, Hobbs said, until traffic issues have been finalized.
