The Wilderness Alert !!!!

[Busterbuttonboy]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

Planning Commission passed it. Now it moves onto the Board of Supervisor vote.

http://wjz.com/wireapnewsva/Wal.Mart.Supercenter.2.1059293.html

STEVE SZKOTAK, Associated Press Writer
ORANGE, Va. (AP) ―

Wal-Mart has won the backing of Orange County planners for a Supercenter near the Wilderness Battlefield in Virginia.

The 5-4 vote Thursday sends the proposal to the Board of Supervisors. That board is believed to be leaning toward approval of the 138,000-square-foot store within a cannon shot of the Civil War battlefield.

Supervisors will conduct a public hearing before taking a vote on the proposal. It has been criticized by some of the nation's top historians.

They have said the store is an affront to 29,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were killed or injured 145 years ago at the Wilderness.

Wal-Mart has said its studies have concluded the store will not actually be on the site of any bloody combat.

[Dignann]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

ROUND 1 TO WAL-MART

Orange Planning Commission narrowly endorses Wilderness Wal-Mart proposal

BY CLINT SCHEMMER

The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 26, 2009

A split Orange County Planning Commission last night endorsed a Wal-Mart retail center proposed in the Wilderness battlefield area.

The 11-member advisory panel voted 5-4 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a proposal by JDC Ventures of Vienna for the 51.6-acre commercial development. JDC must obtain a special-use permit for the center because of the size of Wal-Mart's proposed 138,000-square-foot store.

The tract, one-quarter mile from the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, has been zoned for commercial use since the early 1970s. Last year Orange adopted a big-box ordinance requiring a special-use permit for stores of more than 60,000 square feet.

JDC's development plan, of which the Wal-Mart Supercenter constitutes about 60 percent, has generated national controversy over its impact to the park and the Wilderness battlefield where Gens. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant's forces first clashed in May 1864.

The proposed retail site is outside the national park boundary but within the area defined for further study for possible historical significance.

A coalition of local and national groups has been battling the proposal since last summer. The issue, the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition has said, is not Wal-Mart, but its location near the park and the traffic and additional development it would spawn.

Commissioners Cory Hefner, William Speiden, David Kovarik, Donald Brooks and Will Likins, the panel's chairman, spoke in favor of JDC's proposal. Commissioner Elliott Fox Jr. could not attend the meeting but issued a statement supporting the project.

Likins said that though he doesn't like Wal-Mart per se, Orange County needs the tax revenue and jobs the store will provide.

At a commissioner's request, Wal-Mart presented an economic impact study last night asserting that its store and the associated retail stores on the site will generate $800,000 per year in tax revenue for Orange and 622 jobs once they're built and operating. Months earlier, Wal-Mart had told county officials the Supercenter alone would create $500,000 in annual tax revenue and 300 jobs.

Likins urged his colleagues not to let the emotions raised by preservationists carry the day.

"If the county denies this permit, we'll lose all control, as we did with the Sheetz [at Wilderness Corner]," Likins said. "We could end up with something desperately worse than this proposal."

On the other side, Commissioners Nigel Goodwin, Walter Smith, Terry Apperson and Thomas Bundy argued against the development.

"There's no guarantee that this is going to be a net revenue generator for Orange County," Goodwin said.

Bundy said allowing the retail center, many times the size of the total retail development now nearby, would compound bad decisions Orange officials made years ago in zoning the site.

Supervisor Teri Pace also sits on the Planning Commission. She participated in the discussion last night but did not vote.

Wal-Mart spokesman Keith Morris said he was pleased by the commission's action after months of intense public debate but said there's still a long way to go, as supervisors make the final decision on the project. He anticipates that the board will probably take up the issue in August.

Jim Campi of the Civil War Preservation Trust expressed disappointment in the commission's recommendation.

"The Orange County Planning Commission's vote is deeply disappointing and very problematic," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "The commission's approval ignores alternate available sites in Orange County, the many local and national voices raised in opposition, and the sanctity of this historic site."

Public comment at a Planning Commission hearing several weeks ago ran 2-1 against the retail center adjoining Wilderness Run north of State Route 3, near the State Route 20 intersection.

Last night, the commission went over JDC's proposal in detail, attaching a number of conditions to its recommendation.

Several commissioners raised concerns about whether Wal-Mart would provide enough funding to the Sheriff's Office to offset the increase in crime and security problems the store will cause.

Thomas Kleine, Wal-Mart's Richmond lawyer, said the company estimated the store would prompt 400 annual calls--one and a half per day--to the Sheriff's Office. Brooks pushed Wal-Mart to provide $325,000 per year in escrow to help pay the cost of additional law enforcement, beyond the one 24-hour on-site security patrol Wal-Mart is offering to provide.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/062009/06262009/476075

Eric

[Dignann]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

ORANGE BUILDER OFFERS WAL-MART 75 ACRES WEST OF BATTLEFIELD

Local builder offers 75-acre Route 3 site to Orange and Wal-Mart for big-box store

By CLINT SCHEMMER

The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 26, 2009

Orange County builder John Marcantoni has put an offer on the table that he wants the county and Wal-Mart to consider.

He recently contacted both parties to invite Wal-Mart to locate on 75 acres along State Route 3 west of Lake of the Woods. Marcantoni owns the property with business partner Robert Dudley of Stafford County.

Marcantoni said yesterday that he had not received a reply from Orange County or Wal-Mart.

The tract, which has 1,300 feet of Route 3 frontage, is planned for mixed-use development and is served by public utilities. The agriculturally zoned property is at the corner of State Routes 3 and 708, next to the Somerset Farms and Wilderness Shores subdivisions.

Marcantoni said he believes his property offers a way for the Arkansas retailer to build a Supercenter and Orange to build up its tax base without fueling opposition from the National Park Service, historians and preservation groups, as Wal-Mart's proposed Wilderness Corner site has.

Marcantoni's tract, which has plenty of room for a "big box"-sized retail center, wouldn't threaten the Wilderness battlefield or stress the busy intersection of State Routes 3 and 20, he said in an interview.

Wal-Mart spokesman Keith Morris said last night that the Wilderness Corner site is the only one in the Route 3 corridor that meets all of the retailer's needs, particularly that the property is already zoned for commercial development. He noted that Marcantoni's property is zoned for agricultural use, and that Orange supervisors rejected an earlier rezoning request.

Marcantoni, who has lived in eastern Orange for nearly 10 years, said ruling out agriculturally zoned property is premature. A special-use permit, which Wal-Mart must obtain under the county's big-box ordinance to be allowed to build its Supercenter, requires an applicant to perform all of the studies required by a rezoning, he said.

"This is a viable alternative. They're essentially going through a rezoning process now, and they're not even through the Planning Commission," Marcantoni said yesterday, before the commission met again to consider Wal-mart's plan. "The Board of Supervisors will make the final decision, but Wal-Mart is going through the same steps as it would in a rezoning."

Marcantoni had a traffic analysis done for the large retail center his partnership proposed as part of Signature Station, which also included dozens of townhouses. The traffic study accommodated full build-out of Somerset Farm and Wilderness Shores, along with a proposed convention center, golf course and subdivision named River Point, he said.

The Board of Supervisors liked the retail center but voted 3-2 to deny the 2006 rezoning request because of its housing component. That was highly controversial at the time because of other projects in the development pipeline, Marcantoni said.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/062009/06262009/475646

Eric

[Emmanuel Dabney]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

I know that several of you have already, including myself, e-mailed the Board of Supervisors in Orange County.

I hope those of you who have not will take a moment to send a short, intelligible note to the five member board.

It really is not over until it is over. Thanks!!

[Dignann]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

Wal-Mart proposal moves to Orange supervisors

Wal-Mart hearing eyed for late summer; Orange planners negotiate particulars of proposed retail center

BY CLINT SCHEMMER

The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Va.]
June 27, 2009

Orange County supervisors are likely to hear the public's views on the Wal-Mart retail center proposed for the Wilderness battlefield area late next month or in early August.

County Administrator William C. Rolfe said yesterday that July 23 and Aug. 4 are tentative dates he has proposed for the public hearing on the issue before the Board of Supervisors.

Rolfe said he anticipates that the board will set the hearing date at its next meeting, on Tuesday. The auditorium at Orange County High School needs to be reserved and legal advertising requirements must be met.

Based on a recent conversation with board Chairman Lee Frame, Rolfe said, he doesn't believe supervisors will decide the matter the night of the hearing, preferring to have more time to fully consider the testimony.

The county Planning Com-mission endorsed the retail development Thursday night, voting 5-4 to recommend it to the supervisors with certain conditions.

Those conditions, which were negotiated with Wal-Mart by Orange's planning staff and legal counsel, attempt to nail down important details of the 236,000 -square-foot retail center proposed by JDC Ventures of Vienna. The 138,000-square-foot Supercenter would make up nearly 60 percent of the project, with several nearby pad sites available near State Route 3 for "baby-box" stores.

The 51.6-acre tract at Routes 3 and 20 is zoned for commercial use, but under the county's "big-box" ordinance, the landowner must be granted a special-use permit to build a store larger than 60,000 square feet.

The proposal has generated national controversy over its impact to the Wilderness battlefield where Gens. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant's forces first clashed in May 1864. Foes say the issue is not Wal-Mart, but the retail center's location--a quarter-mile from Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park--and the traffic and additional development it would foster.

The Planning Commission's 11 conditions cover the Wal-Mart's architecture and exterior appearance, the timing of road construction, security issues, off-site transportation improvements, buffers and landscaping, signs and historical displays.

Additionally, at the urging of Commissioner Nigel Goodwin, the panel approved a resolution urging resolution of three issues:

Setting a timetable for completion of the Supercenter and road work. Some commissioners were concerned that Wal-Mart could walk away from the project and Orange would be with left a large, vacant cleared property.

Ensuring that Wal-Mart will commit, in writing, to provide money to lengthen turn lanes along Route 20 north where it meets Route 3. For that project to work, the National Park Service would have to yield right of way, since the road is adjacent to the battlefield park.

Making sure that Lake of the Woods property owners aren't saddled with the cost of heightening or enlarging the community's smaller dam if the state Department of Conservation and Recreation decides construction of the retail center necessitates that. Two of JDC's store sites fall within the state-designated inundation zone for LOW's eastern lake. The commission wants Wal-Mart to pay 100 percent of the cost of dam work that Virginia may require.

Frame said the Board of Supervisors is not bound to follow the commissioners' recommendation, but he was impressed by their work.

"As I mentioned to the chairman of the Planning Commission earlier, they did a very thorough job of scrubbing the issues," Frame said. "Many of the questions we'll be asking have already been answered through this process."

A majority of the five supervisors is believed to support the Wal-Mart proposal.

Supervisor Teri Pace, who opposes the Wal-Mart at JDC's site, said she isn't about to call the battle over. "The board certainly has disagreed with the Planning Commission's recommendations before," Pace said.

http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/062009/06272009/476223

Eric

[Busterbuttonboy]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/072009/07032009/477577/printer_friendly

Orange to scold county leader
July 3, 2009 12:36 am

BY ROBIN KNEPPER

Orange County supervisors are taking the county administrator to the woodshed tonight over his suggestion that they explore other possible sites for a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

It is unclear whether Bill Rolfe will still have his job when they are done.

The supervisors expressed their chagrin after getting an e-mail from Rolfe June 15 advising that it would be in the best interest of the county to "broker a deal that keeps Wal-Mart in the County and moves it further away from the congressionally approved boundary line of the Wilderness Battlefield."

Rolfe continued, "We know we have an adjoining property owner willing to work with the county and with Wal-Mart. We have seen a 50+ year master plan for approximately 900 acres of the approximate 2,000-acre adjoining tract of land that seems to work within the framework of the County's comprehensive plan."

Rolfe was referring to the King family's proposed Wilderness Crossing mixed-use development just west of the proposed Wal-Mart location at the intersection of State Routes 3 and 20. He sent a copy of his e-mail to the supervisors to the King family's local representative, Kenny Dotson.

Dotson said he, in turn, forwarded it to Jim Campi of the Civil War Preservation Trust, Rob Nieweg of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Catharine Gilliam of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Preservationists oppose the proposed Wal-Mart site, saying it is too close to the Civil War battlefield park.

"I told them that Bill had gone out on a limb and we needed to support him," Dotson said yesterday. "I have the utmost respect for him, and he is in a difficult position trying to move the board forward."

Supervisor Mark Johnson's immediate response to the e-mail was that Rolfe was "treading on some damn thin ice."

Supervisor Zack Burkett put the subject of Rolfe's views on the agenda for the closed session after the regular supervisors' meeting this past Tuesday.

No action was taken after that meeting, but yesterday Chairman Lee Frame called a special meeting for next Tuesday night to address the escalating situation.

That day was inconvenient for three of the supervisors, so a special closed meeting "to discuss assignment and performance of a specific employee" was scheduled for 7 tonight.

"We'll be talking about a personnel issue," Frame said. "That's an issue that we normally deal with in a closed session, not in the press. With personnel issues we must respect privacy.

"I'm trying to walk a fine line right now and not exacerbate the situation," he said.

Supervisor Teel Goodwin said he was disappointed that Rolfe's views on the Wal-Mart site were presented so late in the approval process.

"There's some displeasure as a result of the article about Bill's e-mail appearing on the front page of The Free Lance-Star," he said. "The suggestions about moving the Wal-Mart have been out there, but I don't agree with it coming up at this point in time.

"It makes people look like idiots, and it makes it appear that some change is going on."

Goodwin, along with Supervisors Burkett and Mark Johnson, has said he would support a special-use permit to build a 138,000-square-foot Supercenter on the commercially zoned land.

The county Planning Commission voted last week to recommend that supervisors approve the application. The board will hold a public hearing July 27.

So, will Bill Rolfe keep his job?

"It's not a sure thing," said Goodwin. "It's up in the air, and anything's possible. But I'm not making a move.

"I can't say he's toasty," Goodwin continued, "but he'll surely get severely reprimanded after this."

[Dignann]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

Classy, real classy.

Eric

[Busterbuttonboy]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

So Classy They let him go.




By the Associated Press

July 4, 2009
ORANGE, Va. - A local official who suggested a different location for a Wal-Mart Supercenter than a proposed site near a Civil War battlefield in Virginia has lost his job.

Orange County Administrator Bill Rolfe was fired Friday night after supervisors met in a closed session.

Wal-Mart is seeking the board's blessing for a store near the Wilderness battlefield. Historians have loudly complained about the location. Wal-Mart maintains the store will not disturb the battlefield.

In an e-mail sent to supervisors June 15, Rolfe said it would be in the county's best interests to broker a deal with the retailer to move the proposed store somewhere else in the county.

County planners have recommended approval of the Wal-Mart store.

http://www.wtkr.com/news/dp-va--wal-martbattlefie0704jul04,0,7350480.story

[Busterbuttonboy]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

Keep those e-mails going to the Board of Supervisors.

July 2, 2009 12:35 am
Orange County supervisors have scheduled a July 27 public hearing on a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in the Wilderness battlefield area.

The hearing will begin at 7 p.m. in the Orange County High School auditorium.

At their meeting Tuesday night, supervisors said they would not vote July 27 on the special-use permit to build the 138,000-square-foot store. They will, however, hold their regularly scheduled second meeting of the month July 28.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, County Attorney Sharon Pan-dak presented a few scenarios for altering the composition of the 10-member Planning Commission. The commission now consists of two members from each of the county's five magisterial districts.

Supervisor Zack Burkett had suggested the reorganization at the board's retreat in early January. He noted that commission Chairman Will Likins was his opponent in the 2007 race for the District 2 board seat, a situation he described as "awkward."

The Board of Supervisors can change the composition of the commission and should do so by ordinance, according to Pandak.

Board Chairman Lee Frame, formerly a Planning Commission member, said he was happy with the makeup of the advisory commission. He noted that having 10 members helps the panel to do more work.

"I like a lot of different views," he said, "but there's more than a little bit of chaos."

Supervisor Mark Johnson said the Planning Commission "is out of step with the board" and takes on issues that cost the county staff time and money.

"They spend a lot of time on things the supervisors aren't interested in," Johnson said. "We wind up with a dysfunctional process when the Planning Commission is doing things the supervisors don't want. If we were on the same page, there would be a better working relationship."

Burkett agreed. "A lot of expense gets chewed up when it's already known how the board [of supervisors] will vote."

At the January retreat, a majority of supervisors--Teel Goodwin, Johnson and Burkett--said they would support Wal-Mart's proposal. The Planning Commission last week recommended approval of the project after holding a public hearing and two additional meetings on the matter.

Goodwin said he was happy with the present makeup of the commission. He appointed both of the members from his district.

But he said he would be concerned about the size of the group if the county needed to be divided into more than five magisterial districts.

Supervisor Teri Pace suggested the commission be reconstituted with seven members--one appointed by each of the five supervisors and two at-large members.

Pandak noted that the easiest thing for supervisors to do would be to dissolve the present commission and start a new one. Frame asked Pandak for more details and noted that there would be more debate after looking at various proposals.

Robin Knepper: 540/972-5701

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/072009/07022009/477072/printer_friendly

Again the BOS e-mail addresses are

Chairman R. Mark Johnson
rmj142@yahoo.com

Supervisor Zack Burkett
zburkett@orangecountyva.gov

Supervisor Teel Goodwin
Teel.Goodwin@vabb.com

Vice Chairwoman Teri L. Pace
tpacedist4@aol.com

Supervisor Lee Frame
leeframe@orangecountyva.gov

[Michael Comer]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

Sent my emails to each one of those folks.

[missourirelics]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

Sent my emails.

Paul Arnold

[bholt61stny]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

Since I am stationed in the area at Quantico, I get to enjoy the Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and a few others within the area on the weekends. I have only read a few of the replies to this thread and I know I am going to say relatively the same thing, but I can count on both hands, maybe even moving to the toes, how many walmarts are in a 15-20 mile radius of each other. Considering people can drive it is really sad that they would rather have a new store built and not take the extra 10 minutes it takes to drive to another walmart. They should be lucky that they dont have to walk everywhere like the brave soldiers who fought and died there had to.

Just my opinion.

[wilber6150]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

It seems really strange that they are so unwilling to even discuss other possible locations for the store..It almost seems like there is some behind the scenes deals being made for this particular plot of land..In my own opinion, it almost feels like some palms have been greased for this deal, and they don't want anyone to upset their plans...

[TJ Bartel]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

It seems really strange that they are so unwilling to even discuss other possible locations for the store..It almost seems like there is some behind the scenes deals being made for this particular plot of land..In my own opinion, it almost feels like some palms have been greased for this deal, and they don't want anyone to upset their plans...

That wouldn't surprise me at all.

[Busterbuttonboy]

Re: The Wilderness Alert !!!!

Tell them so! Voice your opinion. Its important for our community to be able to act together on this issue like we have on previous ones. The correlation between living history/progressive reenacting and preservation is undoubted.