Gresham blocks Wal-Mart, again

New ruling may end two-year battle between Wal-Mart and Gresham activists.

By Kelly Moyer-Wade
The Gresham Outlook, Nov 18, 2006
Original story can be read here

Building a supercenter in Gresham has proven harder than Wal-Mart developers could have ever imagined.

A Gresham hearings officer denied the retailer’s proposal for the second time in two years this week, possibly ending Wal-Mart’s quest to develop a supercenter near one of Gresham’s busiest intersections.

Gresham Hearings Officer Joe Turner ruled early Thursday morning that Wal-Mart’s proposal would negatively impact the nearby intersection at Powell Boulevard, 182nd Avenue and Southwest Highland Drive – one of Gresham’s 10 deadliest intersections, according to city planners.

In his 57-page final order, Turner agrees with the city of Gresham’s planners, who approved the Wal-Mart development earlier this year, on all but one issue. That issue, concerning the traffic flow at the Powell/182nd/Highland intersection, was the basis for Turner’s denial.

“The hearings officer cannot find that (Wal-Mart) sustained its burden of proof that the vehicle distribution assumptions in its traffic models are reasonable and supported by substantial evidence,” Turner writes in the final order.

Wal-Mart’s developers, PacLand, argued at a Sept. 27 public hearing that, in an attempt to save driving time, customers would use Southwest Highland Drive more often than West Powell Loop. Using Southwest Highland would have a lower impact on the Powell/182nd/Highland intersection, but Turner couldn’t find evidence to support the developer’s “time of travel” analysis.

The ruling should please the thousands of activists who have fought against the Wal-Mart development for more than two years.

A community activist group called Gresham First initiated the appeal that Turner ruled on earlier this year, after city planners OK’d the development.

In a press release sent out Thursday afternoon, the group’s leaders said they’re pleased with Turner’s decision.

“The city of Gresham has affirmed what residents have been saying for almost two years now. We care about the future of our community, and need to protect our livability, economy, safety and environment,” said Michael Price, spokesman for Gresham First.

Gresham First’s supporters number in the thousands, but it was not a show of hands that ultimately killed the Wal-Mart application.

“Many members of the public testified that the city should deny the application to ‘respect the wishes of the community,’ ” Turner says. “Such testimony misunderstands the law. The best way to protect all of the public is to enforce the laws consistently … Existing residents often have unique knowledge due to their experience living in the area. However, the (city code) does not require community approval of the application.”

Gresham First’s leaders understood this. Early on, when Wal-Mart first approached the city with plans to build a 220,000-square-foot supercenter with underground parking for 900 vehicles, Gresham First organized its opposition by hiring traffic consultants to review the developer’s traffic study.

The city of Gresham denied Wal-Mart’s first proposal in August 2005, but the retailer appealed the decision and Joe Turner heard from Gresham First’s consultants, as well as Wal-Mart’s traffic experts, during a public hearing in September 2005.

Turner later upheld the city’s denial, but Wal-Mart bought the 11-acre property anyway and later came back to the city with a proposal for a smaller supercenter, without the underground parking.

Gresham planners approved the new, slimmed-down proposal in July of this year, but Gresham First was ready and the community group appealed the decision.

Turner’s most recent decision will reverse the city’s approval, but Wal-Mart has options. The retailer could appeal Turner’s decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, or it could submit a revised application to the city within one year.

Jennifer Holder, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said the company believes the decision was based on a malfunctioning signal, that, when working, would back up Wal-Mart’s traffic study. Holder said her company would use the full 21 days it has to respond to the decision.

Price, of Gresham First, said his group is confident that Turner’s most recent decision will be difficult to reverse.

“This project has been scrutinized carefully by professionals as well as residents who use the local transportation system, and the decision will be very difficult to overturn,” Price said.