Wal-Mart developments can have a devastating impact on our land, air and water. Various aspects of these impacts have been discussed in other sections of these materials.

It is worth mentioning a few issues within this “Use Requirements” section. The following could be effective facets in your overall permit strategy:

Green Space

Communities are increasingly building “green space” or “open space” requirements into their zoning regulations. Green space regulations force the developer to leave part of his site undeveloped – he cannot build on the “green space” area of the site, and therefore must limit the scope of his project. Green space set-asides provide transition between adjacent land uses and can reduce air, noise and visual pollution impacts. Green space regulations usually require that a certain percentage of a project site be devoted to green space: shrubs, grass, trees and other landscaping, although in some cases, the “green space” must be undisturbed natural land.

Skimping on the green space requirement (or trying to use it for a detention pond or septic system or parking lot) is a convenient way for a Wal-Mart developer to fit his project on to a site that normally would not be adequate. Since the developer is usually allowed to choose which areas of the site are designated as “green space,” he’ll often chop it up into small pieces that are hard to measure -- and claim more “green” than he’s got. Or he’ll try to count traffic islands in a parking lot as “green.” You’ll need a sharp eye to catch the developer at these games, but pointing them out can stop the project dead in its tracks.

Some communities have gone a step further in green space requirements and developed landscape standards. In essence, these requirements spell out exactly how green space must be allotted and planted on Wal-Mart sites, and what’s counted as “green.” For example, they could require that there be one tree for every 10 feet of road frontage or, one tree for every six parking spaces. They may also preclude the developer from counting buffer zones and traffic islands toward his green space requirement, and may forbid any use of green space for drainage systems, detention (or retention) ponds, or septic systems. In addition, green space standards may spell out a specific timeline for when shrubs and other ground cover need to be mature enough to provide adequate screening, and set forth a planting schedule setting minimum sizes – e.g., no tree smaller than a 3-inch “caliper” (which means the tree must have a trunk at least 3 inches in diameter). Check your local zoning regulations for green space requirements and make sure that Wal-Mart developers adhere to them. And don’t be shy about asking the permit-granting board to require the developer to exceed the minimum standards, especially if you can point to special circumstances – a nursing home or kindergarten next door, for example.

Wetlands/Waterways

According to the Clean Water Act, administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wetlands are “those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas." Wetlands provide essential habitat to a variety of plant and animal life that is easily disturbed or disrupted by any changes and, for humans, feed public water supplies, groundwater, wells and aquifers. Obviously, wetlands are especially sensitive areas of land that can be devastated by a Wal-Mart development.

Every state has its own clean water and environmental protection laws, state agencies which administer these regulations, and mandates to local communities to make sure developers comply with the regulations.

Wetland regulation can take many forms at the local level. Some communities include it as part of the site plan approval process, overseen by a planning board, or similar body. Some communities have a separate wetlands or conservation commission charged with overseeing wetland regulation. In some cases, the disturbance to a wetland may reach an impact threshold that triggers state or even federal oversight. Wetland regulation and oversight is a specialized and sophisticated area of land regulation. In the Wal-Mart context, it is essential to retain an expert when wetlands are involved, to examine the site upon which a Wal-Mart project is being proposed. Be aware of how your community regulates wetlands and whether a Wal-Mart development will disturb these particularly sensitive areas. The oversight usually will include a public hearing or meeting component that allows you and your expert to put comments on the record.

Waterways

Rivers, lakes, streams, creeks – also are particularly sensitive elements of a region’s landscape, and can be adversely affected by a Wal-Mart development. Will the oil, grease, gasoline, antifreeze and other chemicals dripping onto the parking lot from thousands of cars be swept in to the local drinking water supply when a rain storm causes run off from the Wal-Mart site? Where will the run-off from a Wal-Mart site eventually end up? In the local swimming hole where kids swim in the summer? Into the reservoir nearby that provides drinking water? Will the increase in run-off from an enormous paved parking lot (and concomitant reduction in permeable soil) cause local streams to rise over their banks and flood the area? These are the types of questions and issues a Wal-Mart development creates and that must be addressed in the oversight of such a project.

Like wetlands, oversight of waterways takes many forms on the local, state and federal level. Also, like wetlands, retaining an expert is the best avenue for effective advocacy.

Water/Sewer Capacity

Wal-Marts are huge structures that consume large amounts of water and create huge amounts of waste. It is important to keep in mind that the impact these developments have on the local water supply and sewerage system capacity can be devastating to a community. Does the Wal-Mart project have a produce section? A meat department? A garden center? All use thousands of gallons of water per day – a red flag emotional issue when communities are in the midst of a drought and homeowners can’t water their lawns.

Why must the local sewerage system be burdened with the waste from the Wal-Mart? Is there adequate capacity for such an increase? Will it require building more sewer stations at taxpayers’ expense? Will my sewer rates go up? Will it cause a building ban as homeowners are denied new hookups to the system? Why not require the developer to build an on-site sewerage treatment plant (at a cost of $1 million or more)? If he can’t afford it, he should withdraw his plans, shouldn’t he?

Be familiar with your community’s water and sewer needs and capacity, and the regulations governing hookups and volumes. They can play important roles in your anti-Wal-Mart advocacy campaign.

In all of these areas, imagination, intelligence and creativity will help you develop a wide variety of issues and questions about the Wal-Mart development – and some will certainly have some traction with local officials, environmentalists, and activists, who will rally to your cause.