Published: May 06, 2008 12:32 am      

NORTH TONAWANDA: Wal-Mart discussion tabled

About 20 people got up and left after five minutes at Monday night’s planning board meeting when it became clear all discussion of Wal-Mart plans would be tabled pending two future meeting dates.

What began as a highly anticipated forum to discuss a recent environmental impact report — the final environmental impact statement — regarding a controversial bid to open a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the former Melody Fair grounds was sidelined and planners did little but rehash the agendas for two imminent meetings.

Fred Frank, from Wendel Duchscherer, the city’s engineering consultant, took the floor to say that a closed-door summit with the state Department of Transportation has been set for 11 a.m. May 15.

The next regular planning board gathering June 2 will continue what many think represents an uncommon vigilance on the part of planners expecting lawsuits in reaction to the environmental study.

The board could vote on whether to endorse the environmental statement at a special meeting to be held May 12, and contingent upon that, formal adoption of that phase of planning could, after a period for public input, go before the body at their regular meeting June 2.

Common Council President Brett Sommer said board members are working to “cross their t’s and dot their i’s.”

He expressed an awareness that litigation could be inevitable on a topic that citizens’ groups on both sides of the issue feel strongly about.

Frank Budwey, owner of Budwey’s market, said his primary concerns rest with the impact the store would have on residential neighborhoods bordering the proposed site and the size of the land to be set aside, with regard to increased traffic volume.

He said the parcel is inadequate.

“Their real problem is that the site is way too small to handle the traffic,” Budwey said by phone Monday night from a supermarket conference in Las Vegas. “If they go forward with this, they’re going to destroy the Martinsville and Wurlitzer Park neighborhoods, which in effect is going to drop the value of those homes and the safety of those neighborhoods.”

Budwey’s market would also be forced to compete with the retail giant, should their plans reach fruition.

Sommer believes a majority in the city want the store to open.

“The overwhelming majority of people in North Tonawanda just want to see this thing built so they can go shopping,” Sommer said.

Tammy Godyn attended Monday night’s meeting in behalf of the Lumber City Liaisons for Wal-Mart, and said she’s grown used to the delays inherent to what many observers think amounts to a kind of hyper-stringency by the city and others involved with the supercenter proposal.

“They know that a lawsuit will cost the city and we can’t afford it,” she said.

After the brief Wal-Mart discussions, a proposed 136-unit condominium project opposite the Deerwood golf course on Walck Road got the lion’s share of the attention.

Vice Chairwoman Joy Kuebler voiced criticism of architects’ plans for the development, specifically in the area of maintaining minimum green space allotments. City code requires that a minimum of 25 percent of any project should be devoted to areas for planting and maintaining soil quality.

“Every engineer will fill out the entire space if told to do so,” she said.

Board member Nathan Marton expressed concerns that access to some of the units near the Walck Road entrance could create a traffic hazard, with vehicles entering and exiting the thoroughfare as well as related parking areas.

Jim McGuiness represented developer David Stapleton on the project, officially called “The Villas at Deerwood.”

Planners tabled the discussion on a land-use permit pending the developer’s inclusion of more detailed information about the location and types of plants to be used on the site.

Officials last heard a request for a land usage proposal regarding the Niagara Regional Federal Credit Union site. It was not the first time planners representing the project had met with officials. A request for conditional approval was denied on the grounds that the plans warranted further review. The credit union’s CEO, Donna Wick, said they are already paying taxes on the combined, two parcel lot.

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.