Wal-Mart site gets commercial nod

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jul 30, 2002 | by Kent, Joan

The La Crosse City Plan Commission voted Monday to rezone the Wal-Mart Supercenter site as commercial land, going against the city planner's advice.

City Planner Larry Kirch had recommended the site be zoned as a planned development district, so the city could maintain some control of the project. "It is not my desire to delay or kill the project, but only obtain the best possible development for the city of La Crosse and surrounding area," he said in his report.

The developer's proposal is better than stores in some communities but not top of the line, Kirch said. "If the city is going to permit this development, then it should be the best it can be," he said.

He cited as an example the city of Onalaska's refusal to approve a Home Depot store until the development was upgraded. But a no vote might mean Wal-Mart won't come to the South Side, said commission member Richard Becker. "We would be flushing down the toilet $250,000 a year in real estate taxes," he said.

The superecenter is expected to generate $256,495 in real estate taxes, $64,124 in personal property taxes, $182,000 in sales tax revenue for La Crosse County and $1.8 million in state sales tax.

Julia Eveker, development director for Continental Properties, which is handling the site for Wal-Mart, said several changes are being made to address concerns of nearby residents.

Based on neighbors' objections, Eveker said the developer has eliminated any entrance - vehicular or pedestrian - from Markle Road, which runs behind the supereenter site. Several residents at the meeting said they were concerned people would park on Markle.

Some neighbors said they do not want the store, period, fearing it will hurt other businesses and Wal-Mart will abandon the building someday to build a bigger store in the area. Eveker said Wal-Mart does not vacate Supercenters.

The developer also has increased a fence from six to eight feet, added landscaping, designed lighting to conform to an ordinance still being drafted by the city, and plans to meet the city's noise ordinances, Eveker said.

The design will be a moderate one, an upgrade from WalMart's basic design, but not top of the line, Eveker said. "WalMart will not consider alternatives," she added.

Noting other commercial buildings under construction that do not have much landscaping, she said, "We are concerned there is one set of ordinances for local developers and another for out-of-town developers."

George Parke, attorney for Thompson Animal Medical Center, said center owners wanted the property to be zoned as planned development district, so the city and neighbors can have more input.

"It is a little insulting to the city to say this will not be a topof-the-line store for Wal-Mart," he said. "This building is huge. It's impact is enormous, so the city should control it and make the controls part of the legislation."

The Judiciary and Administration Committee is scheduled to consider the rezoning issue at its 7:30 p.m. meeting today.