Published: September 07, 2008 01:04 am      

WAL-MART: Site plan, many months in the making, up for approval Monday

North Tonawanda, NY — For nearly two years, efforts to approve a Wal-Mart Supercenter in North Tonawanda have lumbered along at a cautionary pace.

Caution in the name of diligence or caution in the face of what many believe is a lawsuit in the making, depending on who you ask, and probably both.

Monday, the gavel will come down once and for all on site plan approval (another term for the green light to begin construction) — barring something so unforeseen it takes city planners who’ve been working on the approval for hundreds of hours by surprise.

That scenario seems about as unlikely they come, according to officials with the planning commission and zoning board of appeals.

“Plans were submitted to the county and they sent us their comments — which were, they had no comment,” Planning Commission Chairman Gary Przewozny said.

Niagara County approval was received Aug. 19.

Two simultaneous meetings by the planning commission and zoning board will be held. The commission will vote one way or the other on the retailer’s construction plans, now including numerous changes made to mitigate environmental issues raised by Wal-Mart opponents and city planners alike.

The appeals board will similarly finalize approval they granted Aug. 11 for two variances needed to accommodate the commission’s mitigations. Those have also been sent to the county and returned with the OK to proceed.

Members of each body say it matters not what order the conclusions are reached. Many acknowledge the upcoming votes are mainly a formality in order that county input can be considered.

If their findings are complementary, there will be a Supercenter on the former Melody Fair grounds — or a lawsuit by individuals who from the onset have found fault with the project and the city’s |

handling of it.

The sale of a city-owned access road, Bluebird Drive, must also be negotiated to the satisfaction of the Common Council, which has already been authorized Mayor Larry Soos to sell the property.

For the opposition, some of the issues are:

• location/traffic.

• impact on small businesses.

• Wal-Mart’s aggressive and historically unprecedented dominance in the marketplace as a con.

• The lack of an independent study of the economic impact the store would have for the city in the long run.

For supporters:

• The need for nearby retail given, among other reasons, gas prices.

• Increased tax revenue estimated at roughly $400,000 annually.

• Evidence they say proves Wal-Mart contributes millions to local charities across the country.

• Economic revitalization of the vacant Melody Fair parcels, which are already zoned for commercial use.

May 12, David J. Seeger, attorney for the group NT First, led by North Tonawanda grocer Frank Budwey, set the groundwork for a lawsuit just hours before the commission approved the months-long environmental impact study.

The appeal stated “the group North Tonawanda First reserves its right to hold the planning commission accountable in the New York State Supreme Court,” if the environmental impact study was accepted before data used to establish adverse traffic impact was not provided to the group.

The input data was used in computer renderings of roadways near the intersection of Erie Avenue and Wurlitzer Drive used by the Department of Transportation.

City Attorney Shawn Nickerson acknowledged a lawsuit would not come as a surprise and that elsewhere, as in Lockport, when Wal-Mart comes, lawsuits typically follow.

“Ordinarily, what I imagine would be litigated would be something procedural,” he said. “And usually when something like that is litigated it’s called an article 78 and that comes with a four-month statute of limitations.”

In that case, for example, Friday would be the deadline for a lawsuit on acceptance of the environmental study.

“I think the environmental impact was probably the biggest thing we overcame,” Przewozny said. “I think everybody (on the board) is very happy with the way things have gone. When we go to the meeting Monday, we’ll see if there are any negative votes. I wouldn’t think so, but you never know.”

Contact reporter Neale Gulley

at 693-1000, ext. 114.