Wal-Mart appeals to the Oregon State Land Use Board of Appeals

As was expected, Wal-Mart appealed the denial of their application to the Oregon State Land Use Board of Appeals. They will hear the appeal on February 22nd.

Gresham First, the local organization that has been fighting this Wal-Mart location, has been participating heavily in the process. They filed the appeal when the store's application was originally approved by city staff last year.

Gresham First also filed an appeal on the decision made late last year to deny the smaller Wal-Mart store. Why would they do that? you ask?

From Gresham First:

While we are pleased with the latest outcome, we are also concerned that the written decision is based on only one element of the project. Significant issues were raised by neighbors but not included in Turner’s ruling, such as the zoning of the site, and whether a developer can utilize City land without proper approval from the Gresham City Council.

The citizen’s appeal has three main goals:

* Ensure that ALL issues are debated during the State Land Use Board of Appeals review. Wal-Mart was expected to appeal, but only wants to discuss the narrow issue on which they lost.

* Obtain a final decision which denies the project based on the “big-picture” of community level impacts, including traffic, safety, and livability.

* Set a precedent for future decisions. Local decision makers admitted that the city’s development regulations are outdated or vague in some areas. The City of Gresham has an opportunity to set the tone for what developers can get away with, and how we will protect our neighborhoods from poorly planned projects.

A decision is expected from LUBA by March 22nd.