Post by Modesto Anarcho on Sept 18, 2007 14:16:53 GMT -5
Protesters rally against proposed Wal-Mart center
Group hopes for poetic justice at City Council meeting
By LESLIE ALBRECHT
lalbrecht@mercedsun-star.com
The City Council got a taste of political poetry Monday night from young activists fighting Wal-Mart's plan to build a distribution center in southeast Merced.
Two students from Golden Valley High School read poems against the proposed distribution center during the council meeting's public comment period. One poem, called "Taming the Beast," described the trucks that would serve the distribution center as "mindless predator(s) ...belch(ing) excrement."
Before the meeting the students joined about 40 other protesters to rally outside the Civic Center, chanting, "Whose air? Our air! Whose City Council? Our City Council!"
The protest marked another chapter in the increasingly vocal opposition to the Wal-Mart distribution center, which has become a regular feature of City Council meetings over the past several months.
Wal-Mart announced plans to build the distribution center two years ago; the project is now undergoing environmental review. The council will vote on the center when the environmental review is complete sometime this fall or winter.
Proponents say the project -- slated for a 275-acre parcel between Childs and Gerard avenues west of Tower Road -- would eventually bring 900 jobs to economically depressed Merced. Opponents say the 900 diesel truck trips the center would generate each day would worsen Merced's already poor air quality.
In April, Merced's Stop Wal-Mart Action Team announced a campaign to educate council members on its cause. Since then the group's members have been regular speakers at council meetings, bombarding the council with information about Merced's air quality and other issues. The group has also tried to drum up support by hosting events, including a picnic featuring pinatas shaped like Wal-Mart trucks.
Patrick Lauppe, the Golden Valley junior who read the poem called "Taming the Beast," said he wasn't worried that the council could grow weary of the sustained anti-Wal-Mart campaign.
"The more we attend these meetings, the more they'll realize we're unequivocally against this project and we won't let it into our town without a fight," said Lauppe.
In July, Wal-Mart representatives paid their own visit to the City Council. Spokesman Keith Morris told the council then that although the project's environmental review is taking longer than originally expected, Wal-Mart is "still committed to building the facility in Merced."
The anti-Wal-Mart folks showed up elsewhere on Monday night's council agenda. The group also submitted a letter applauding a proposed resolution on development policies, but the council failed to vote on the measure.
One policy would have directed city staff to carefully study how building shopping centers near the new Mission Avenue highway exit could affect area traffic. The site where Wal-Mart wants to build its distribution center is about three-quarters of a mile from new Mission Avenue exit.
The other policy would have told commercial developers that the City Council "is not inclined to entertain" requests for discounts on the fees developers pay when they build in Merced. The policy would also state that the City Council "refrains from negotiating impact fees (with developers) on an individual basis."
Councilwoman Michele Gabriault-Acosta said she worried that the policy on fee discounts could sound hostile to developers, and asked city staff to come up with some new language.
"To me it seems the door is shut and there's no ifs, ands or buts about it...I'd like to see something that explains (the policy) without shutting the door and saying (to developers) 'head to Madera,'" she said.
But Councilman Bill Spriggs urged his colleagues to OK the no-discount fee policy, noting that developer fees pay for critical infrastructure such as streets, parks and sewer capacity.
"It's incumbent on us to set policy that lets developers know that they're not going to blow into town, blow out of town, and let us live with their problems for the next 50 years," he said.
The council voted unanimously to send both items back to city staff, asking for more clarity in the resolution's language.
Reporter Leslie Albrecht can be reached at 209-385-2484 or lalbrecht@mercedsun-star.com.
Group hopes for poetic justice at City Council meeting
By LESLIE ALBRECHT
lalbrecht@mercedsun-star.com
The City Council got a taste of political poetry Monday night from young activists fighting Wal-Mart's plan to build a distribution center in southeast Merced.
Two students from Golden Valley High School read poems against the proposed distribution center during the council meeting's public comment period. One poem, called "Taming the Beast," described the trucks that would serve the distribution center as "mindless predator(s) ...belch(ing) excrement."
Before the meeting the students joined about 40 other protesters to rally outside the Civic Center, chanting, "Whose air? Our air! Whose City Council? Our City Council!"
The protest marked another chapter in the increasingly vocal opposition to the Wal-Mart distribution center, which has become a regular feature of City Council meetings over the past several months.
Wal-Mart announced plans to build the distribution center two years ago; the project is now undergoing environmental review. The council will vote on the center when the environmental review is complete sometime this fall or winter.
Proponents say the project -- slated for a 275-acre parcel between Childs and Gerard avenues west of Tower Road -- would eventually bring 900 jobs to economically depressed Merced. Opponents say the 900 diesel truck trips the center would generate each day would worsen Merced's already poor air quality.
In April, Merced's Stop Wal-Mart Action Team announced a campaign to educate council members on its cause. Since then the group's members have been regular speakers at council meetings, bombarding the council with information about Merced's air quality and other issues. The group has also tried to drum up support by hosting events, including a picnic featuring pinatas shaped like Wal-Mart trucks.
Patrick Lauppe, the Golden Valley junior who read the poem called "Taming the Beast," said he wasn't worried that the council could grow weary of the sustained anti-Wal-Mart campaign.
"The more we attend these meetings, the more they'll realize we're unequivocally against this project and we won't let it into our town without a fight," said Lauppe.
In July, Wal-Mart representatives paid their own visit to the City Council. Spokesman Keith Morris told the council then that although the project's environmental review is taking longer than originally expected, Wal-Mart is "still committed to building the facility in Merced."
The anti-Wal-Mart folks showed up elsewhere on Monday night's council agenda. The group also submitted a letter applauding a proposed resolution on development policies, but the council failed to vote on the measure.
One policy would have directed city staff to carefully study how building shopping centers near the new Mission Avenue highway exit could affect area traffic. The site where Wal-Mart wants to build its distribution center is about three-quarters of a mile from new Mission Avenue exit.
The other policy would have told commercial developers that the City Council "is not inclined to entertain" requests for discounts on the fees developers pay when they build in Merced. The policy would also state that the City Council "refrains from negotiating impact fees (with developers) on an individual basis."
Councilwoman Michele Gabriault-Acosta said she worried that the policy on fee discounts could sound hostile to developers, and asked city staff to come up with some new language.
"To me it seems the door is shut and there's no ifs, ands or buts about it...I'd like to see something that explains (the policy) without shutting the door and saying (to developers) 'head to Madera,'" she said.
But Councilman Bill Spriggs urged his colleagues to OK the no-discount fee policy, noting that developer fees pay for critical infrastructure such as streets, parks and sewer capacity.
"It's incumbent on us to set policy that lets developers know that they're not going to blow into town, blow out of town, and let us live with their problems for the next 50 years," he said.
The council voted unanimously to send both items back to city staff, asking for more clarity in the resolution's language.
Reporter Leslie Albrecht can be reached at 209-385-2484 or lalbrecht@mercedsun-star.com.