Some 65 residents took turns today debating Wal-Mart's plea for a zoning change to bulldoze Kmart and replace it with a 120,000-square-foot "hypermarket" at 2705 E. Parleys Way. They pointed to Wal-Mart's familiar foibles: truck traffic, clogged roads, late-night noise and light pollution. But several residents also argued Wal-Mart's promise to build green if allowed to build anew is disingenuous since a rebuild is cheaper than a remodel.
"Do they want to build green for the community or do they want the green for their pockets?" asked Sarah Carlson.
Others blasted big-box ethics, warning Wal-Mart will cannibalize nearby grocers.
"The neighborhood does not need inferior products served at cut rates," said Camron Carpenter.
Wal-Mart returned fire with a sprightly spokeswoman, combative project manager, traffic engineer and architect. The team insisted a new building will usher a better customer experience, lush landscaping and energy efficiency. The diagram calls for a "smart" box, not a rotting rectangle. It includes 30 more parking spaces, trees in the parking lot, indoor trash compactors, "shielded" lights and screen walls by the service areas - all on the existing Kmart footprint.
Besides, if the rezone is not granted, they pointed out, Wal-Mart still will move into the Kmart store.
Project manager Troy Herold notes that store suffers from bad design, "40-year-old technology" and has no pedestrian access. Without a zone change "the best we can do is put a skin on the outside."
Wal-Mart bought the property in 2005, but the following year the city prohibited supercenters from community business areas, prompting the need for the zone change.
Several residents supported the move, including Elaine Brown who called the Kmart a "40-year run-down eyesore with no aesthetic or practical value."
And Jerry May said to not rezone "strikes me as rather vindictive and anti-business."
Still, the area community councils are opposed. And a group called Foothill Development Watch said the property could be spruced up with a pedestrian-friendly "live-work development" complete with shops, patios and mountain views.
The Planning Commission made no decision at the "issues-only" hearing, but some members worried Wal-Mart's corporate bosses in Arkansas may ultimately make all the design calls.
"They may want to think about flattening the hierarchy and listening to the members of the community," Commissioner Robert Forbis chastised the Wal-Mart gang.
Then, a parting thought from Don Lewon, who lives a few blocks away.
"I know of no greater warts," he said about supercenters. "They're going to do everything on the cheap because look at what they sell."
