The Interfaith Resource Center for Peace and Justice
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Peace and Justice
[The following is from Brad]
All,
THANK YOU to all who were able to attend the meeting last night! By the large turnout in attendance, we demonstrated to Council that the number of people opposed to a big box development in Exeter is formidable. To those of you who couldn't be with us last night, we know you were with us in spirit and we appreciate your continued support!
We'd like to publicly thank Attorney Don Karpowich whose presentation on Exeter First's behalf was outstanding!
Thank you Larry D. for recommending him to our group!!!!
Last night was a small victory in a long and difficult struggle! Council still has the option to put the WM amendments to the ordinances on the agenda for a vote next month or in the months to come.
Going forward, we need to focus on convincing Council to draft and approve a "big box" ordinance in order to retain the authority to regulate "big box" development in our community.
On November 10, 2009, at a regular Council meeting, Council passed a resolution to study and amend the invalidity of Exeter Boro's zoning ordinances in reference to "large retail establishments" in the borough. This procedure is classified as a "curative amendment" and if Council considers it, they must hold a public hearing for the residents' input before May 10, 2010. We hope that all of you will attend when the date is set.
There's a lot of work ahead of us but we can accomplish our goal by working together!
Resolution for Curative Amendment to Exeter Borough's Zoning Ordinances:
Exeter Boro has passed a resolution entitled "Findings for Declarative Invalidity" regarding the Exeter Zoning Code, whereby a curative amendment would seek to address "large retail establishments" in the borough.
It was passed by a resolution voted on at the "special" EB council meeting held at noon this past Thursday, December 10, 2009. (The special meeting was advertised the day prior buried in the classified section of the Citizens' Voice)
Jack Varaly, an engineer employed by Pasonick Engineering, drew up this "Exhibit A" and presented it to council for their approval.
On one hand, this is an accomplishment for Exeter First because it shows that Exeter Boro council came to the realization that they needed to protect the borough from unmitigated large retail establishment development within its borders and needed to update their zoning ordinances.
On the other hand, it can be interpreted as "paving the way for Walmart."
For today, let's consider it a step in the right direction. Since this is a "curative amendment," it will have to go through the required procedures to pass as a formal revision to Exeter's zoning ordinances. That is, there will be public hearings heard in the future (before Exeter Planning Commission and Council) on the details of these changes.
All of us need to continue to monitor these developments by attending Council/Planning Commission meetings and work sessions!
Rezoning (currently in progress) of the entire Borough of Exeter
Also discussed at the 12.10.09 Council meeting, was the assignment to Pasonick Engineering to review and rezone the entire borough of Exeter.
EB Council assigned Pasonick this task in April or May of 2009. Jack Varaly (of Pasonick) is the project manager for this task. Upon questioning by one of Exeter First's members on Thursday, Mr. Varaly stated that he plans to suggest to EB council that the Valenti/Parini land parcels should be rezoned commercial. Larry Dellogrotto, who has been in real estate development for 32 years, questioned Mr. Varaly's recommendation and stated that "if these lands were properly zoned" (mixed zoning) then other developers would be encouraged to develop projects which would be more compatible and conducive to Exeter. Mr. Varaly invited Mr. Dellegrotto to submit his suggestions to him for mixed zoning. Larry is currently working on this.
This is what EF thinks may happen: a. EB Council has assigned Pasonick to rezone ALL of Exeter. b. Pasonick is planning to come back and suggest that Valenti/Parini lands should be zoned B3 (commercial) which is what WM needs to develop the land. c. When Pasonick makes their suggestion, EB will vote "yes" to rezone ALL of Exeter and slip in the rezoning of the Valenti/Parini land. d. EB council members will have the excuse that "we followed the suggestion of the experts we paid "(Pasonick) and, this way, they will circumvent the vote on the rezoning of the Valenti/Parini lands and their hands will be clean and it will pave the way for WM to begin their development!
Thank you for your continued support! Your comments, suggestions, etc are welcome!!
Since late February 2009, a group of concerned citizens from Exeter Borough and surrounding communities, known as Exeter First, has been opposed to rezoning two parcels of property in Exeter Borough. Currently, the two contiguous parcels are zoned for M-2 light industrial use. The owners of the two parcels have requested Exeter Borough Council to rezone the parcels from M-2, or Light Industrial, to B-3, or Highway Service District (Commercial, Retail) - with the expressed intention of developing a Wal-Mart SuperCenter on the sites.
Exeter First is fighting to retain the current zoning of Light Industrial in order to preserve the neighborhood and community atmosphere of Exeter and the surrounding communities - specifically, Wyoming, West Wyoming, West Pittston, and Forty Fort. Along with numerous communities nationwide, Exeter First believes a "big box" retail store, such as WalMart, would causes a detrimental chain of events throughout the area that may never be able to be resolved once they occur. In other words, the small town atmosphere of a large portion of the west side of the Wyoming Valley would, in all likelihood, be permanently disturbed, should a Supercenter Wal-mart be constructed and run on property located in the middle of Exeter.
On the other hand, by allowing these two parcels of land - some 15 to 25 acres - to remain Light Industrial, would, by contrast, permit the opportunity for value-added resources to be developed in the community so as to create sustainable growth, by nurturing, rather than destroying the small town atmosphere of Exeter and the West Side.
On the other hand, by allowing these two parcels of land - some 15 to 25 acres - to remain Light Industrial, would, by contrast, permit the opportunity for value-added resources to be developed in the community so as to create sustainable growth, by nurturing, rather than destroying the small town atmosphere of Exeter and the West Side.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/ This is a 60 minute FRONTLINE presentation. You may find some additional information that was not included in the Wal-Mart - The High Cost of Low Price. It is broken into segments so you do not have to watch the entire presentation in one sitting. Segments are around 12 minutes.
FYI
For those of you who don't access our Facebook Page "Exeter First," Justin from "new rules" and "big box tool kit" websites has been following our fight against Walmart in Exeter.
He has posted an article about our efforts on both of the websites.
On May 12, 2009, Exeter First presented packets of research to Wyoming Boro for their review. The information cited many of the detrimental effects that a Walmart has on small communities. We requested that after reviewing the information, if they believed, as our group does, an independent community impact study is required before rezoning is approved, than they would officially send a letter to Exeter Boro Council requesting that a study be done. Last night, Wyoming Boro council members unanimously approved our request!
It's not just an Exeter issue!! It will affect all of the West Side communities!
mpc
EXETER FIRST
Council wants Exeter to study how planned business would affect Wyoming Avenue.
B. GARRET ROGAN Times Leader Correspondent
WYOMING – Borough Council passed a motion Tuesday night to request that Exeter Borough conduct an impartial impact study on the likely effects of a proposed Wal-Mart on Wyoming Avenue.
Although Wyoming has no authority over Exeter’s territorial issues, virtually any traffic that heads north to Exeter has to pass through Wyoming.
Council member Michael Baloga said he is concerned that a Wal-Mart on the avenue would be detrimental to Wyoming businesses such as Gerrity’s Supermarket and the Midway Shopping Center, among others.
“There are pros and there are cons to having a Wal-Mart,” Baloga said.
He then pointed out that an increased tax base would be a positive that only Exeter would experience while the surrounding communities would all share negatives such as increased traffic.
The motion to request the impact study passed unanimously among the four council members present. Council Chairman Robert Guilford and council member Michael Flynn were absent.
While he would not speak for the council as a whole, Baloga acknowledged that the body might collectively seek to persuade Exeter officials to refrain from holding any rezoning hearings on the proposed building site until after the impact study is complete.
On that matter Baloga said, “It is very possible, because this is an issue that affects Wyoming residents directly.”
Mayor Robert Boyer said the borough has already formally requested that several municipal street intersections be involved in any traffic studies to be conducted before authorization of any Wal-Mart-related construction.
In other business, council accepted the resignation of zoning solicitor Frank Mazzeo. He will now serve as an alternate on the zoning board. The council expects to replace Mazzeo with attorney Jarret J. Ferentino, although he has not yet officially been hired.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, Boyer awarded Wyoming Police Sgt. Mike Fuller and Exeter Borough EMS responders Jared Jordan and Christina Zborovian letters of commendation for their life-saving actions on May 30.
When a Wyoming resident’s life was threatened by a choking accident, the quick response of the three saved the woman’s life, Boyer said. Fuller was able to resuscitate the victim and keep her stable long enough to allow the Exeter medics to remove the object that was lodged in her throat.
Exeter and Wyoming boroughs share ambulance services.
This is a link to the Citizens' Voice article appearing in today's paper:
According to Times Leader article dated 5.29.09, WM has broken ground for it "power center" in Pittston Twp. The store will be 166,227 sq. ft. (about 10,000 s.f. larger than the proposed WM in Exeter) and has an additional 50,747 s.f of space for small stores. Proposed opening date Spring of 2010.
Here is a link to the plans on the developer's site.
IF YOU ARE STILL OPPOSED TO SEEING A WM DEVELOPED IN EXETER, PLEASE ATTEND TUESDAY, JUNE 2 EXETER BORO MTG AT 7:00 PM AT THE BORO BUILDING IN EXETER!! This is the last council meeting before the rezoning hearing which must be held on or before July 7 according to Atty Ray Hassey.
We want to have a show of numbers to let council know that we want them to perform an independent impact study BEFORE the zoning hearing! Bring a friend!!
mp
Mrs. Josephine Hatrack a long-time resident of Sullivan Street in Exeter read her letter to the Exeter Council at their last work session on Tuesday, May 26, 2009.
During last year's Black Friday blitz, large crowds and poor security lead to tragedy at a Long Island Walmart. Shoppers mobbed the store's front entrance, killing temporary employee Jdimytai Damour and injuring several customers. Since, Walmart has been blasted for its conduct by the media, the victims, and now the government.
Yesterday, OSHA slapped Walmart with the maximum penalty allowed under the law for "exposing workers to the recognized hazard of being crushed by the crowd." OSHA thinks Walmart "should have recognized... the need to implement effective crowd management to protect its employees." We couldn't agree more.
Unfortunately, all this unwanted attention hasn't brought substantive change at Walmart. Bentonville avoided criminal prosecution in New York by pledging to revamp security only in its New York stores. The rest of its stores will presumably see no security enhancement at all. This means millions of Walmart customers and workers in the other 49 states are still exposed to inadequate security.
Today, we are rallying to ensure that Walmart makes a serious, state-by-state effort to boost store security. Sign our petition today and let Walmart know we are serious about safety.
As the nation's largest employer, Walmart has national responsibilities. While Walmart makes legal maneuvers with store safety in New York, more than 4,000 other American Walmart stores are potentially just as unsafe as they were before last year's Black Friday tragedy.
We can hold Walmart to a higher standard. If you, your friends, or your family have seen Walmart cut corners with store safety, please tell your story on our website. If Walmart refuses to reevaluate its own security procedures, we will do it for them, store by store.
