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72 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 11, 2005 LUBA to hear C.P. Wal-Mart appeal Supercenter lawyers will say Central Point was biased in its rejection of the company’s planned store on E. Pine Street By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT � One of three Wal-Mart Supercenters proposed for the Rogue Valley is set for review by the state Land Use Board of Appeals on Thursday. Attorneys for Wal-Mart and the city of Central Point will present final arguments in an appeal of the City Council’s denial last year of plans for a 207,000-square-foot store at the corner of East Pine Street and Hamrick Road. Attorneys on behalf of Wal-Mart will claim the city was biased in handling the retail giant’s proposal, while attorneys for Central Point will argue the city had every right to interpret its own planning laws. The store was initially proposed in December 2003, and Planning Commission members unanimously approved the project the following March. City Council members overturned the commission’s recommendation just a month later, however, following much heated public debate and a slew of hearings. Council members argued the project was not in line with city planning goals and did not fit the description of a community shopping center. Advertisement Wal-Mart appealed the council’s decision last May, which, according to LUBA staff members, has since been riddled with repeated requests by Wal-Mart to submit additional evidence into record. While the appeal is multi-faceted and lengthy, arguments center around a handful of main issues, said Wal-Mart attorney Greg Hathaway of Portland. A main argument is that city staff scheduled City Council review of the Planning Commission decision before it had been made. "The city scheduled a City Council appeal hearing before they even knew what the Planning Commission was going to decide," Hathaway said. "The City Council wanted to deny this project. There’s no question about that." City land-use attorney Bill Kabeiseman said that because of time constraints in making a decision and in giving satisfactory notice to the public, city staff anticipated a needed review of the planning decision. "Basically, they recognized that someone was likely to appeal whatever decision the Planning Commission made," Kabeiseman said. A second main argument is based on the city’s interpretation of a community shopping center. Hathaway said city staff had actively pursued a Home Depot store in recent years, which Wal-Mart representatives argue is of similar scope to the proposed Supercenter. "It seems inconceivable to us that the City Council and (staff) could take a position today that says Wal-Mart isn’t allowed in this zone when the city was trying to recruit big box retailers like Home Depot exactly on that same site," Hathaway argued. "It seems very much that they are changing the rules specifically to stop Wal-Mart from building in Central Point." Kabeiseman said the city was simply interpreting its own planning laws and feedback from citizens. A major issue for city staff, Kabeiseman said, was unwillingness by Wal-Mart to extend the 120-day rule to allow Planning Commission members to review results of an East Pine Corridor Study, which would have addressed traffic and environmental concerns raised throughout the process. "Results were not yet available and the City Council believes the corridor study was a key element," Kabeiseman said, adding that there was also some confusion over whether planning commissioners understood the definition of a community shopping center. To claims that the city actively pursued Home Depot, which Kabeiseman confirmed, he questioned, "Do you go to Home Depot for the same things you go to Wal-Mart for?" Though Thursday’s hearing was initially set for Central Point, a spokesperson for LUBA said details had not been worked out and that the hearing would be held at the Salem headquarters. Upon final review, LUBA’s three-member board could remand the case back to the city for further review, overturn the city’s decision or deem that the city acted appropriately and within its own planning laws. A decision is expected around mid-June. For details of the appeal, visit LUBA online at http://luba.state.or.us/pdf/2005/mar05/04075.htm . Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Plans are being negotiated for Medford and Eagle Point Wal-Marts As arguments are set to begin on a 207,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter in Central Point, two other stores are being negotiated for south Medford and Eagle Point. Denied by Medford City Council members in May 2004, plans for a Supercenter at Miles Field were remanded back to the city in April by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. LUBA determined that the Medford City Council exceeded its authority in rejecting plans for the store. City Council members have said they will begin negotiating a compromise with the retail giant that would satisfy their concerns about a Supercenter’s compatibility with the neighborhood. Just one month after the decision on the Medford store, Wal-Mart representatives submitted plans for a third Supercenter to the city of Eagle Point. The store would be located in a 25-acre business park near Highway 62 and Hannon Road. Wal-Mart attorney Greg Hathaway said his company felt support in the community warranted three stores. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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