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HARTFORD - When the city’s Planning
Commission considers approval of a final site plan and a certified
survey map (CSM) for the new 184,000-square-foot Wal-Mart
SuperCenter on West Sumner Street, it can expect a lot of questions
from members of Hartford Citizens for Responsible Government (HCRG).
The 38-acre development, which also will include outparcel
commercial ventures, is on a site that eventually drains into the
Rubicon River watershed.
City Planner Justin Drew said no date has been set for the
commission to consider either the final site plan or the CSM. When
those items are put on an agenda, they will not require a public
hearing, Drew said, although it’s up to the discretion of the
planning commission if it wants to allow public comment on a
particular item.
The commission would have the final say on the site plan, but
will only make a recommendation either for or against the CSM, which
gets final approval from the Hartford Common Council, Drew
explained.
HCRG member Marilyn Raschka said the group still has serious
concerns about the development’s impact on the environment and
traffic.
"We are only doing this because we’re very concerned about
the future negative impacts of this Wal-Mart," Raschka said.
"We need to address these issues right now because once the
damage is done, it’s done."
HCRG is working with the Madison-based advocacy group, Midwest
Environmental Advocates Inc., a nonprofit environmental law center
that has challenged Wal-Mart Corp. on other store development
projects in the state.
In a release to the media last week by the HCRG, the group stated
"Midwest Environmental Advocates addressed concerns over the
unnecessary wetland fill in a formal comment letter, submitted on
behalf of Hartford Citizens for Responsible Government, to the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers."
"Instead of using underground parking to create a smaller
building that can be placed in a less sensitive area, Wal-Mart is
proposing to pave over the equivalent of 25 football fields in a
wetland area on the edge of the city," said Brent Denzin,
attorney with MEA, in the press release.
"The community wants an honest and thorough discussion of
these impacts," said Ray VonGunten, HCRG member, in the
release. "The planning commission was set up to address these
concerns before approving permits. The public cannot allow the city
to rubber stamp enormous developments when clear impacts
exist."
Raschka said HCRG members plan to discuss the matter individually
with each person on the nine-member commission, which includes Mayor
Scott Henke as chairperson.
City Engineer William Ripp said the Wal-Mart plan for protecting
the environment through such things as retention ponds has met the
city’s requirements.
"We’re actually stricter than the DNR (Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources), but there’s nothing unusual
about the Wal-Mart proposal when you consider what has been done
previously," Ripp said.
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Explainer
Under terms of the original
developer’s agreement approved by Hartford and Wal-Mart Real
Estate Business Trust, the company has a number of
responsibilities when it comes to stormwater management and
pollution control.
Some of the specifics include:
The developer must design and
pay for all sanitary sewer main, water main and stormwater
management improvements required by the city and the
Department of Natural Resources.
The developer must maintain all
erosion controls measures at its expense to the satisfaction
of City Engineer William Ripp throughout the construction
process. That includes using silt control fencing and when
that fencing can be removed. The developer is also responsible
for such controls for all the buildable lots on the 38-acre
project, not just the main store.
The developer must design and
install at its own expense all storm sewer mains, detention
ponds and appurtenances in accordance with city standards
designed to handle all on-site stormwater generated by the
development during a 10-year storm. The storm sewer
construction must abide by Best Management Practices required
by the DNR.
The developer will be notified
should any type of contamination be discovered and give the
developer reasonable time to conduct a cleanup as required by
local, state and federal laws.
Under the preliminary site plan
approved previously by the Planning Commission and Common
Council, Wal-Mart has agreed to place a large detention area
at the back of the property. |
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