Wal-Mart charity lags; profits leave state, study finds

A recent study (see page 4) shows Wal-Mart gives only about one-fourth as much to charity as locally owned businesses do–and less than half as much as Target gives, as a percentage of sales. The study also finds that only 14 cents of every dollar spent at a big box retail store actually stays in the state where the store is located. The other 86 cents goes to Bentonville (Wal-Mart)… Atlanta (Home Depot)… Mooresville, NC (Lowe’s)… and so on.

 

A better idea: Smaller big-box stores

Bigger is not always better. MSNBC reports that Wal-Mart and Home Depot are now building dramatically smaller stores in areas where superstores are too big. The retailers have store designs that measure 40,000 to 50,000 square feet (about 1 acre) instead of the 212,000 square foot (5-acre) building footprints like the Supercenter proposed for Hadley.

 

State rejects Supercenter environmental report

Secretary of Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles ruled last Friday that Wal-Mart’s Draft Environmental Impact Report does not comply with state environmental regulations. The full text of his ruling may be downloaded here or here

Secretary Bowles found that Wal-Mart failed to provide correct and adequate traffic information. He also wrote that Wal-Mart did not disclose all wetlands on the site and failed to work with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to protect the Rail Trail.

Several agencies wrote in their comment letters that only one of the seven designs that Wal-Mart presented for the site was actually legal.

 

New air pollution regulations effective immediately

 

Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles has announced that effective immediately the Commonwealth will require developers of large projects to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the “carbon footprint” of their developments. This may pose particular challenges to large retail projects that depend on thousands of customer auto trips per day, such as the Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe’s and Home Depot stores currently under state review in Hadley. The environmental impact reports for these projects show they will boost cumulative emissions of ozone ingredients 23-25% in the Pioneer Valley.

The Boston Globe reports: “In a major change to Massachusetts environmental policy, private developers will now be required to estimate the greenhouse gases their large-scale projects will produce and reduce them with measures such as energy-efficient lighting, alternative fuels, or commuter shuttles.” Read the whole story here.

 

Study: Two existing supermarkets will fail if Supercenter opens

On average, two existing grocery stores go out of business after a Wal-Mart Supercenter opens, according to a 2006 study by economist Dr. Kenneth E. Stone of Iowa State University. Stone finds that Supercenters in non-metropolitan regions, like Hampshire County, put existing grocery stores at great risk: sales growth falls by as much as 17 percent within two years of a Supercenter opening, forcing at least two established grocery stores out of business and off the tax rolls. This means that new property tax revenue from the Supercenter is offset by the loss of taxes from the existing grocery stores that close.

 

Supercenter facades

Facades for the proposed Hadley Wal-Mart Supercenter are seen below. The top views show how the store would look from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife building (near Staples) on Westgate Center Drive. The grocery entrance is at right. The bottom image shows how the Supercenter might look to a person biking or walking on the Norwottuck Rail Trail. (Images from March 2007 Wal-Mart DEIR and 2005 site plan submittal.)

 

Supercenter plan includes 2nd store–almost as big as existing Wal-Mart

The plan for the 212,000-square foot Wal-Mart Supercenter at Hampshire Mall also includes a second “New Store” measuring 97,000 square feet (see below). For comparison, the existing Wal-Mart store at the Mountain Farms Mall is approximately 100,000 square feet; Target, on the east end of the Existing Mall, is about 108,000 square feet. (1 acre = 43,560 square feet)

 

Key Agency Rail Trail comment letter missing from Wal-Mart DEIR

The DEIR for the Wal-Mart Supercenter omits a December 14, 2005, comment letter from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on the original project design presented in April 2005. MEPA regulations requires that DEIRs include all previously received comment letters and provide responses (see p. 171 of DEIR).

DCR owns and maintains the Norwottuck Rail Trail, which abuts the south boundary of the Supercenter project for more than 300 yards. In the letter, the DCR Commissioner wrote: “We strongly urge a development alternative that would move and orient all components of the project a minimum of 250 feet away from the DCR property line to create an adequate buffer from the Trail…”

The DCR letter also says that Wal-Mart’s proposed new direct connection to the Rail Trail behind the Supercenter “is not in keeping with State Park staff recommendations to limit the number of arbitrary access points which add to the cost of maintenance, litter cleanup and graffiti removal on the Rail Trail. Instead, the Department urges that the proponent, in concert with other occupants of the Hampshire Mall, establish a safe pathway that will allow cyclists and pedestrians to access the Rail Trail at a safe and appropriate existing entry point, such as at South Maple Street. “

The letter also asks for a grade-separated crossing of the Rail Trail at South Maple street because of what DCR called a “spike” in auto traffic crossing the Trail: “This spike will coincide with the high use periods for the Rail Trail as well, and will result in a highly dangerous intersection and conflict between vehicles and Trail users that could have tragic results. The Department does not believe this interface can be alleviated by simple, or even elaborate, traffic signals, and therefore recommends that the proponent provide an overhead crossing.”

 

Wal-Mart’s “Preferred Alternative”

Parking area: 13 acres Store size: 5 acres

Weekday mall traffic: 18,936 existing trips + 7,424 new trips = 26,360 total (39% increase)
Saturday traffic: 24,964 existing trips + 9,434 new trips = 34,398 total (38% increase)
Source: Wal-Mart DEIR p.81

Distance from Rail Trail: 114 ft (see below)

 

Supercenter plans pit wetlands against Rail Trail

Residents and the Hadley Planning Board watch a PowerPoint show on March 6 by Wal-Mart Supercenter developers.

At the March 6 hearing, the Wal-Mart Supercenter development team unveiled three new alternatives. The choices offered by the developers were relatively simple:

1. Protect the wetlands basin, as required by DEP, and move the Supercenter to within 114 ft of the Rail Trail.

2. Pave and build on the wetlands basin so the Supercenter can moved to a distance of 214 ft from the Rail Trail.

3. Pave and build on the wetlands and move the Supercenter to within 114 ft of the Rail Trail.

It’s a cynical but effective developer’s strategy: get the community to think it has to choose between the lesser of two evils. Do you want to save the wetlands–or ruin the Rail Trail? Do you want Lowe’s near the road–or at the rear of the lot? Do you want a retail store or 21 houses with school children? These are false choices that are structured to achieve a developer’s desired outcome. But what is the Town’s desired outcome?