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12/8/2005 An Unnecessary Gamble: City of Monona Plan Commission Poised to Blindly Approve Wal-Mart Proposal By Brent Denzin The City of Monona’s Mayor Robb Kahl and the Monona Plan Commission are ready to put Monona’s economy at risk and blindly approve a 203,393 sq. ft. Wal-Mart Supercenter. Instead of studying the effects Wal-Mart will likely have on the economy, the Mayor and the Commission seem to be taking Wal-Mart’s word that it will help, not harm, the local economy. In anticipation of a final vote on December 12th, area residents crowded the November 28th Plan Commission meeting to stress a long-standing concern that the Commission is basing its decision on speculation rather than analysis. The concerned residents have a right to be angry. We do not have to speculate. The decision to spark growth by bringing in Wal-Mart is risky, at best, and it is not too much to ask a Plan Commission to take a look at the overall effect of adding any large development. The Commission should require an economic impact study. In early 2004, just before Wal-Mart came to town, Monona’s Comprehensive Plan took a hard look at Monona’s economic future and decided that the Commission needed to “encourage commercial development and redevelopment that will provide jobs, goods, and services needed by residents, and to discourage the unnecessary duplication of existing facilities.”(emphasis added) Instead of carrying out the plan, the Wal-Mart Supercenter duplicates many of the businesses that anchor the City’s tax-funded economic development areas. Among other business, the Wal-Mart Supercenter will provide the same services as Copps, Shopko, Menards, Staples, Kohls, oil change shops, photo developing shops, not to mention the important, locally-owned businesses that offer similar services as the new 203,393 sq. ft. indoor city. Studies in other parts of the country have shown that Wal-Mart drives out locally-owned businesses. The Plan Commission needs to weigh the potential job losses against the potential jobs brought by Wal-Mart. The same study could examine the effect that Wal-Mart may have on Monona Drive, Pier 37 and other areas of planned economic development. Irresponsible growth begins with the decision to blindly bring in businesses without adhering to the Comprehensive Plan. In order to wisely use our financial and environmental resources, we need to wake up and study the issue. On its face, it seems ridiculous to think that the best use of Monona’s limited commercial land is to attract a development that makes money by undercutting the current base of Monona’s economy. It seems even more ridiculous to avoid the concern altogether and hope for the best. -- Denzin is an attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow with Midwest Environmental Advocates, Wisconsin’s first and only nonprofit environmental law center that provides technical assistance and legal representation to communities working for clean air, clean water, and clean government. He can be reached at bdenzin@midwestadvocates.org or (608) 251-5047 ext. 1. To learn more, visit www.midwestadvocates.org. | Advertisements
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