Information on the Wilderness Wal-Mart Development Proposal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On January 26, 2011, Wal-Mart announced in the Orange County Circuit Court, that it has canceled plans for the proposed Wilderness Battlefield Supercenter. This has been a long battle, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work towards a more positive solution for this historic property. PEC and our allies within the Wilderness Coalition are looking forward to working with Orange County residents, Wal-Mart, and the County to find an alternate location that balances both economic integrity and historic preservation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On September 23, 2009, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, and residents of Orange & Spotsylvania Counties filed a legal challenge to the recent Orange County Board of Supervisors approval of the Wilderness Wal-Mart Special Use Permit. This challenge cites defective County ordinances, numerous procedural errors committed by the County, a failure to comply with the Comprehensive Plan and the unlawful approval of an access road as a part of the Special Use Permit among other issues.

The Piedmont Environmental Council supports the above mentioned groups in their challenge and will continue to provide assistance to Wal-Mart and Orange County in finding an alternative location for the Wal-Mart Supercenter. For more information, please see the National Trust for Historic Preservation Press release, or call Dan Holmes, Orange County Field Officer at 571-213-4250.

Walmart

Statement Regarding the Approval of the Wal-Mart Superstore on Wilderness Battlefield

"The Piedmont Environmental Council joins with the citizens of Orange County and members of local and national preservation organizations in expressing our deep disappointment in the approval of the big box retail store on the Wilderness Battlefield.

While Walmart has been provided the necessary zoning approval to move forward with the store, we would urge the company to stand with the citizens, historians, local preservationists, Governor Kaine, Speaker Howell and many others in finding a more suitable location in Orange County. This matter can still be a win-win situation for the citizens and the company if Wal-Mart chooses to do so.

Considering the company's interest in becoming a part of the community, what better place to start than finding a location that serves to protect the Wilderness Battlefield. We hope that Walmart will accept that challenge."

Background

Two major projects are being discussed for the eastern end of Orange County. Combined they represent the largest commercial development proposal ever to come before the county. Currently, only the Wal-Mart application has been formally submitted. As presented, neither proposal is supported by the guidance found within Orange County's Comprehensive Plan (a twenty-year vision for the county). Due to the recently passed Large Retail Ordinance by the County, the applicants will be required to obtain a special use permit which would include public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

Wal-Mart

The application for Wal-Mart includes a 133,481 square foot Supercenter directly across from the intersection of Route 3 and Route 20 on a roughly 52 acre commercially zoned site. Walmart would use 20 acres of the site with another 16 acres set aside for additional future retail. It has been suggested that this additional retail may be chain restaurants.

The County recently received a revised application in April which included a "mega-entrance" designed to accommodate both the Wal-Mart and any future development for the King property at Wilderness Crossing. This entrance has always been linked to a future realignment of Route 20 though the heart of the Wilderness Battlefield.

The Board of Supervisors has already given the large retail chain indication of majority approval. This comes in advance of any public hearing and has led to a stale site plan that does little to mitigate the impacts to Route 3, Route 20 and the Wilderness Battlefield National Park. In their rush to render a decision, the County has ignored calls for a battlefield preservation plan and has taken a position that this development is "not a part of the battlefield" and that this level of development would not negatively impact the resource or the gateway entrance to the eastern end of the county.

The first public hearing before the Planning Commission is scheduled for May 21st and the County Board of Supervisors seems poised to approve the development sometime in late June or early July. The public hearing was held on Thursday, May 21st at 7pm, at Prospect Heights Middle School, 202 Dailey Drive, Orange, VA 22960.

Wilderness Wal-Mart Meetings:

May 21, 2009 Meeting: The May 21st Planning Commission public hearing on Wal-Mart was well attended, with over 70 people speaking at the meeting. Speakers were 2.5 to 1 in favor of relocating Wal-Mart or denying the Special Use Permit application. The Planning Commission did not vote on Walmart's Special Use Permit application at the May 21st meeting.

June 11, 2009 Meeting: The May 21st meeting was recessed until Thursday, June 11th. The Planning Commission met with Walmart to address questions left over from the last meeting. No decision was made at this meeting, and a follow-up meeting was planned for June 25th.

June 25, 2009 Meeting: The Planning Commission voted 5-4 in favor of Wal-Mart's application, and recommended approval to the Board of Supervisors. Even some of those in favor of the application recognized that this was not the best site and would not equate to a win-win situation. The application is expected to go to the Board of Supervisors in late July. More details on the meetings can be found in the news articles listed below.

CANCELLED: July 27, 2009 Meeting: The Board of Supervisors is expected to review Wal-Mart's application at a specially scheduled BOS Meeting planned for Tuesday, July 27th at 7pm in the high school auditorium. This meeting has been CANCELLED. Read more in the Orange County Government Press Release.

RE-SCHEDULED: At this time, Orange County plans to re-advertise and re-schedule the Planning Commission Public Hearing for August 20th (time TBD) and & Board of Supervisors Public Hearing for August 24th at 6pm.

August 20, 2009 Meeting: The Planning Commission held a Public Hearing on Wilderness Wal-Mart at 7pm in the Orange County High School Auditorium. The Planning Commission voted 4-4 at this meeting.The Planning Commission convened a special meeting on Friday evening to deal with unresolved issues-- and to our dismay, they held a surprise vote on Wilderness Wal-Mart. Only 6 out of 10 planning commissioners were able to attend this special meeting, and the vote to approve was 5-1. The Board of Supervisors will meet on Monday to consider the recommendation.

August 24, 2009 Meeting: The Orange County Board of Supervisors held a Public Hearing on Wilderness Wal-Mart at 6pm in the Orange County High School Auditorium. The Board voted 4-1 to approve Wal-Mart's special use permit. You can read more about the hearing in the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star news article, or in the "News Articles" box below.

Wilderness Crossing

On roughly 1,030 acres (behind and surrounding the proposed Wal-Mart site), Wilderness Crossing would include such uses as 3-4 large retail chains, small retail, offices and limited residential. While no application has been filed, some rough schematics have been presented to the Board of Supervisors. An application is expected soon and the County has shown some preliminary support for the project. From what has been disclosed, it appears to represent development above and beyond what is described in the comprehensive plan and is not in accord with the guiding principles for Economic Development. This proposal would be linked to the Walmart site by the previous mentioned mega-entrance.