January, 2006
Guest viewpoint
Super-sized Wal-Mart: If we do nothing, they will come
by Aron P. Goldman

People are outraged by the "super-sized" Wal-Mart Supercenter planned for Hadley for so many reasons, but no one reason seems to get much in-depth consideration. The threat to local agriculture, land use, and food systems are some of the reasons that deserve more attention.

The plan is to extend Hampshire Mall east toward Amherst, and south toward South Hadley. The Wal-Mart Supercenter would pave over 17 acres of exquisite farmland and wetlands, and irrevocably alter another 10 acres. And the developer may also develop an additional contiguous 20+ acres at some point in the future, representing a potential 52 acre footprint.

While farmers tend to understand acreage pretty well in terms of tillage, developments of this scale (hundreds of thousands of square feet) can be difficult to grasp. This graphic, created by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, helps give some perspective.

For me, a football field was always my point of reference for something "really, really, big." But in the context of a Wal-Mart or Home Depot, it looks like a putting green.

The objective is to create is to create "one-stop shopping," making it unnecessary for shoppers to go anywhere else for any of their needs. Specialty stores that carry local produce and other local goods will suffer. Downtowns all over the Valley will empty out.

These are just some the hidden costs of low prices for our local economy, workforce, and overall quality of life. Wal-Mart's PR machine (self-described as the "war room") is scrambling to counter the mounting opposition. Slogans about community values, absurdly linked to Wal-Mart, can be heard on NPR. And while Wal-Mart has begun selling some organic foods, Valley farmers and shoppers know the difference between factory farms and local ones.

Another problem is "tunnel vision." While Wal-Mart is only concerned about Wal-Mart, this proposal comes on the heels of several other major strip mall projects, all happening at about the same time, along the the same stretch of Route 9. Taken together, Wal-Mart,
Lowe's, Home Depot, and Kohl's would represent an additional 1.1 million square feet of non-farm commercial development, and an additional 21,000 additional car trips every day. And those are the developers' estimates! If you can imagine doubling the amount of commercial space on Route 9, and nearly doubling the amount of traffic, you are beginning to understand how profound the changes are going to be.

Route 9 is already a bottle-necked transportation corridor. And while Hadley's original plan was to contain commercial development to this one part of Hadley, no one anticipated the insatiability with which developers would swallow up farmland and wetlands. Hadley's recently released Master Plan incorporates a lot of key sustainability concepts, but that may not be sufficient.

Valley residents and the various affected constituencies--farmers, local/family/small business owners, environmentalists, workers' rights advocates, commuters, public safety officials, religious leaders, students, seniors, and advocates for the poor--must begin organizing now.

While a lot of control rests at the local level (Hadley town government), there is also oversight at the state level. Clearly, a strip mall explosion in any one town in the Pioneer Valley affects all of us. We've got to communicate that this is a genuinely regional issue. And while it is conceivable that most Valley residents are in fact opposed to this Wal-Mart Supercenter proposal, the project could go forward anyway if we don't get involved.

Those who have already come together around the issue of sprawl are not extremists or radicals (though there are those!) We are a true cross-section: regular people who raise families, go to school, work, retire, worship, and shop in the valley. And most have limited budgets and end up on "the strip" themselves when they can't afford or find what they need in the nearby (and very lovely) downtowns. We are not opposed to a free market, competition, chain stores, growth, or economic development. They just want to see it done right. "Take a look around," one resident said at a recent public hearing, "we've already got a Wal- Mart on Route 9, and another one just four miles down the road!" And there are plenty of other places where you can find unbeatably low prices any time of day or night (and several more on their way). The point is simple: Can't we all agree that at some point, enough is enough?

StopSprawlMart.org was created as a home for all of the constituencies concerned about the regional impact of sprawl. Our strength is our diversity. We are the Pioneer Valley. Please make a contribution to this effort and urge the officials and organizations that represent us us to do the same. Visit our web site to learn more and find out what you can do right now.

Aron P. Goldman is the executive director of a Shutesbury-based nonprofit organization called Policy Development. StopSprawlMart.org is a project of Policy Development.

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