Fighting Wal-Mart in Blacksburg

We received news from Brother Don in Blacksburg, VA where the Town Attorney and local coalition are battling a proposed, 186,000 sq. ft.  Wal-Mart where apartment buildings were originally proposed.

The reading in the linked article is a little tough but understanding the exigencies of land use disputes is key to our activism. These battles are won far more often in the courts than in the streets.

The synopsis: the devil-oper and Wal-Mart claim they have a "vested right" to build on this land that exempts them from a 2007 law requiring special approval for stores over 80,000 sq. feet. A vested right is granted to a builder when they submit specific plans for a plot of land. They are granted certain entitlements in exchange for giving up flexibility on their project...the idea being the community benefits from knowing ahead of time what a project will include.

Our devil-oper in question never stated in writing "We're building a Wal-Mart!", but they claim they have a vested right because their submitted plans restricted "the density of residential units, among other limitations."

LAME! More from the article:

If that logic holds, Keenan asked, how then can a community protect itself from an unscrupulous developer who would proffer restrictions on one type of land use to attain a vested right, all the while intending to build something else?

Great question. This reminds me of our current fight to save the Union Square Pavilion, where the Union Square Partnership is trying to weasel around the court case by claiming they have no idea what kind of restaurant will be installed into the Pavilion...even though it's their plan with money from their donor.

Devil-opers want to keep their projects as ambiguous and opaque as possible to resist community pushback, because knowledge is power. The less the community knows, the less we can hold them accountable.

Stop by the the Blacksburgh United For Responsible Growth website for more information, these saints are doing great work!