Published: May 13, 2008 12:57 am            

NORTH TONAWANDA: Wal-Mart environmental statement deemed complete

From a legal standpoint, it seems parties aligned against a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter are ready to fight.

The North Tonawanda Planning Commission on Monday approved the “completeness” of a final environmental impact statement on the project just hours after city officials were handed an appeal pertaining to a previous Freedom of Information Law request.

The appeal states the group North Tonawanda First “reserves its right to hold the planning commission accountable in the New York Supreme Court” if the environmental study were to be accepted.

The document requests data that planners have used to continually tweak traffic impact estimates around the Melody Fair grounds, now slated for possible development by the big-box retailer.

Marc A. Romanowski, an attorney representing Wal-Mart, says the data has been made available already.

“All the information they claimed wasn’t there has been submitted,” he said.

David J. Seeger, a lawyer for the citizens’ group, issued the original FOIL document April 9.

The appeal gives the city or individuals representing Wendel Duchscherer P.C. — city advisers for Wal-Mart — 10 days to either provide the information or explain in writing a rebuttal to the request.

“We’ll be taking this to the Common Council,” Seeger said. “This is by no means over.”

Seeger, who acknowledges digitized data was sent to him already, is not satisfied with its thoroughness. According to him, state law requires supporting studies to an environmental statement, such as traffic studies, to be publicly available. The group has also enlisted a specialist to review traffic concerns.

“We have some reports that sort of skirt over the effects and what we want is the data so we can keep them honest,” he said.

He wants to conduct a data check on all relevant intersections in the neighborhoods of Wurlitzer Park and Martinsville, neighborhoods deemed by some as at risk to undergo a significant surge in traffic going to and from the proposed store.

The special meeting held Monday night was dedicated to accepting the environmental impact statement as well as other business. The statement was the first item on the agenda and was passed unanimously by the commission.

Department of Transportation officials met with city planning officials last Thursday in a closed door meeting to further discuss traffic impact.

“(Department of Transportation) spotted some serious mistakes,” Seeger said. “Basically that FRA (Wal-Mart traffic consultants) was modeling right-turn . . . lanes on Shawnee and (Niagara Falls Boulevard) that are longer than they exist,” he said.

The input and output data requested is information that could be used to determine whether consultants arrived at accurate and or legal conclusions with regard to traffic patterns.

Draft proposals, according to Seeger, have called for two primary access points to the site, one on Erie Avenue and another on Niagara Falls Boulevard. Then CSX, which owns freight rails going through the area, nixed the Erie proposal, which crosses over its tracks.

After the issue with train operators, planners proposed entrances on Wurlitzer Drive, with the idea that cars would not be allowed to turn right leaving the store, therefore diverting cars away from residential areas.

Several alterations have been made, including one this year. Results of the latest changes were made public at a March 11 meeting.

It was those changes which caused Seeger to seek the computer data.

“It changed because now traffic is being rerouted through Wurlitzer Park,” he said.

The planning commission has proposed a tentative date of June 2 to present its conclusions on environmental issues that have been raised throughout the process.



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

        

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