"PULLMAN WALMART: Construction may start soon; Company spokeswoman says ground could be broken this year; Moscow store could be relocated, expanded"

Well, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News is sticking with their story that Wal-Mart hopes to break ground by the end of the year even though Wal-Mart has told both me and the Lewiston Tribune that there is absolutely no timeline and that the status has not changed one iota. But in any case, from Hillary's keyboard to God's ears. I pray groundbreaking is sooner rather than later.

I can confirm a couple of things that the Daily News is reporting:

One, the Clarkston Supercenter is much further along than Pullman (thanks to the moonbat-free valley environment), and will likely break ground before Pullman.

Two, persistent rumors that Wal-Mart will pull out of Pullman and build in the Hawkins development in the corridor are completely untrue, as are rumors that Wal-Mart will build just in Clarkston instead of Pullman. In case anyone hasn't been paying attention lately, the Hawkins project appears to be in limbo, and unlike Wal-Mart, Hawkins refuses to engage in any rumor control. We are left to speculate what is happening there.

The information on Wal-Mart plans for Moscow is very interesting, particularly the "relocation/expansion within Moscow" statement. With little fanfare, the Thompson property on the east side of Moscow, the original planned location for a Moscow Supercenter, was rezoned to motor business a couple of months ago, eliminating the first and ultimately insurmountable hurdle Wal-Mart faced back in 2006. Now, all that would be left is to get a conditional use permit, which given the current Moscow City Council makeup, would not be difficult.

Stay tuned.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Walmart hopes to break ground on a proposed super center in Pullman by the end of the year, said Jennifer Spall, the company's Washington spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, Walmart's Idaho spokeswoman said company officials still are considering a relocation and possible expansion of the Moscow store.

Engineers are working on design elements of the building being planned for Bishop Boulevard in Pullman. Spall said the plans have changed since October 2004, when company officials first announced plans to build a super center in Pullman.

Spall said the company will apply to the city for permits and the project will go to bid - and be open to local contractors - once design plans are finalized.

She said Walmart stores in Washington are built year-round, and the Pullman store is expected to open in 2010.

"I have a feeling it's coming soon, but we're working through the process," she said. "Everything is moving along, finally. We're very excited about coming to Pullman."

Spall said rumors that the company may opt out of the Pullman location in favor of building at the site of Hawkins Companies' planned retail development in eastern Whitman County just west of Moscow are false.

"There are a lot of rumors going on there," she said. "I think people may be confused. The only other store we're building near you ... is a store next to Costco in Clarkston. There's absolutely no truth to rumors that we're moving it out of Pullman."

Walmart will be required to install two four-way stoplights on Bishop Boulevard at the intersections of Harvest Drive and Fairmount Road, a commitment made for approval of the store's State Environmental Policy Act checklist and site plan.

Pullman Public Works Director Mark Workman said there is no specific timeline for Walmart to put in the stoplights, but there's an expectation that they'll be installed in time for the store's opening. The company also must extend and widen Fairmount Drive, which exits onto South Grand Avenue.

"We have control on when the store will open and when they get an occupancy permit," Workman said.

"They're aware that these signals are critical to the operation of the store. It's not like they could build the store and not the traffic signals. That's not an option. ... It's directly related to the anticipated effects of Walmart. It's their mitigation for the traffic impacts the store will have. It's absolutely necessary."

Karianne Fallow, Walmart spokeswoman for Idaho, said the Moscow store will remain where it is for now, despite efforts to relocate the store and upgrade it to a super center.

"Our customers' preferred shopping experience is at a super center," she said.

In May 2006, the Moscow City Council denied a rezone that would have allowed Walmart to pursue construction of a store on 77 acres east of town.

Fallow said Walmart officials are aware of the Hawkins Companies' development, but the company hopes to relocate to a new property in Moscow.

Fallow said store officials have not set a timeline for relocation, and she's not aware of any negotiations going on with Hawkins.

"I think anything is a possibility," she said. "We'll just have to see what opportunities ... come forward."

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"Wal-Mart offers no date for Pullman store "

Oops. It appears that the Daily News "broke" a non-story about Wal-Mart's groundbreaking plans yesterday.

I heard the same rumors and checked it out with Wal-Mart. I learned the same thing that the Lewiston Tribune reports in the article below: The status hasn't changed one bit. Don't despair though. Wal-Mart is still committed to Pullman.

In the meantime, To get the straight story on Wal-Mart in Pullman, first and most accurately, keep it locked on Palousitics.

From today's Lewiston Tribune:

PULLMAN - A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said Thursday the company has "zero timeline" and "zero information" about plans to break ground for a super center at Pullman by the end of the year.

"It would be our hope to do something this year, but I have absolutely nothing," said Jennifer Spall, Wal-Mart's Washington spokeswoman. "Nothing has changed."

Spall said plans for building a super center in Clarkston are more solid.

"We're actually much, much closer in Clarkston. But I don't have a date yet," Spall said about Clarkston plans. She said bids are out on that project.

"I could know within two months whether we're going to break ground, but right now I don't have any timeline either," she said of the Clarkston store.

Spall said she has been receiving a number of calls about erroneous reports that Wal-Mart might abandon Pullman in favor of Clarkston. She said there is no validity to the reports. "We are committed to both sites," she said.

The current Wal-Mart stores in both Lewiston and Moscow represent separate markets, Spall said, and there are no plans to close either store.

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"Breaking News: Wal-Mart spokeswoman says company hopes to break ground in Pullman by year's end"

The rumors have been flying. Now Dnews.com is reporting that:

Wal-Mart officials hope to break ground on a proposed super center in Pullman by the end of the year, said Jennifer Spall, the company's Washington spokeswoman.

Spall said engineers are still working on design elements of the building being planned for Bishop Boulevard. The plans have changed since October 2004, when company officials first announced plans to build a super center in Pullman.

The company will apply for permits and the project will go to bid once design plans are finalized, Spall said.

Spall said that Wal-Mart stores in Washington are built year-round.

“I have a feeling it’s coming soon, but we’re working through the process,” she said. “Everything is moving along, finally. We’re very excited about coming to Pullman.”

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Ask the Queen Why She Hates Pullman

Dino Rossi and Queen Christine have both agreed to take questions from YouTube users and answer them. The deadline to submit video questions is August 12. More info can be found here.

Someone needs to ask the Queen why she supports the destruction of the Pullman economy. Her reinstitution of the death tax and the Department of Ecology's imposition of Phase II stormwater permitting, even though Pullman is a "bubble" community, threaten to drive future Schweitzer Engineering Labs expansion out of town.

"Wal-Mart unveils details of new super center planned for Clarkston"

The PARDners claim that they have saved the city of Pullman hundreds of thousands of dollars through their efforts at fighting Wal-Mart by "forcing" the retailer to pay a portion of installing traffic lights and traffic calming devices on Bishop Blvd.

Like everything else they have said, this is also a lie.

Down in Clarkston, where Wal-Mart has faced zero opposition, Wal-Mart is spending $500,000 on traffic upgrades, including two stoplights, widening a street, building a bus stop, erecting a sound barrier, and landscaping to limit vehicle light, VOLUNTARILY.

In addition, Clarkston is going to get the first Supercenter in Washington, and one of the first in the country, that incorporates a very cool new store branding. I'll have pictures later.

I'm sure much of the traffic improvements and coolness factor that could have been Pullman's was burned up along with the hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenses Wal-Mart likely had to pay to fight PARD's numerous frivilous and baseless legal challenges

Not to mention the fact that Clarkston will have their store and start reaping the sales tax benefits many months before the one in Pullman is built.

From today's Lewiston Tribune:

Wal-Mart officials said a new design is being considered for the Wal-Mart Supercenter to be built in Clarkston, in the Port of Clarkston area.

The super store Wal-Mart plans to build across from Costco in Clarkston will be an 180,000-square-foot building with a tire center, drive-through pharmacy and garden center.

Those services will be in addition to the groceries, clothing, toys, cosmetics, and electronics typically sold in Wal-Mart Supercenters.

A spokeswoman for the world's largest retailer shared more of the details about the store in an interview this week.

Jennifer Spall, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman in Seattle, couldn't immediately provide a date for the groundbreaking.

Construction, which Wal-Mart hopes will be finished by July, normally takes between nine and 12 months. Wal-Mart spends about another three months hiring employees and outfitting the store.

The Wal-Mart in Clarkston will be the first in Washington, and among the first in the nation, to have an updated look associated with a new branding effort, Spall said.

The front facade will have three entrances of various scale and design to break up the "mass of the building," Spall wrote in an e-mail.

Canopies will extend from the building walls over the sidewalk, according to the e-mail. "The roof line is broken up in varying roof styles and heights."

A large landscape feature, such as a mature state tree, will be placed in the vicinity of the entrance, Spall said.

Wal-Mart has promised to make upgrades of more than $500,000 to handle the 9,000 to 10,500 vehicles that will be driving to the store each day at Fifth and Fair streets.

The largest items in the package are two traffic lights, which will likely cost $250,000 each. One of the signals will be at Fifth and Fair streets. The other will be at 15th and Bridge streets.

Other improvements Wal-Mart will make include widening Port Drive adjacent to the Wal-Mart property from two to three lanes, a bus stop on Fair Street, a sound barrier on the south and western edges of the property that are closest to residential neighborhoods and landscaping to limit vehicle light from entering residences.

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Say What?

Perhaps 10,000 persons who won't shop there might cause a funding problem. Why is there no discussion about the independent study? Are we looking at another typical Pullman fait accompli?

Thank you PARD for looking out for the future well-being of Pullman and attempting to make the decision makers accountable. It is too bad that the recent independent study could not have been included in your lawsuit. It proved Day's claim regarding traffic and congestion on Bishop Boulevard.

- Roger Pettenger, Letter to the Editor, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, July 25, 2008

Huh?

If thousands of petition signers from Moscow, Australia, Chile, Finland and other places around the globe won't shop at the Pullman Wal-Mart, then there will be no traffic problem on Bishop Boulevard. This has been the basic flaw in PARD's reasoning from Day One. They simply can't have it both ways. It's either Boom Town USA with unbearable traffic or economic blight. Pick one of the above.

Let me put it another way, again. If those "10,000 people" had only donated $4.50 each, then PARD could have paid to have their own traffic study conducted. As it was, they didn't. The Hearing Examiner and the courts looked at the studies conducted by Wal-Mart, the city, and WSDOT, and those studies all came to the conclusion that traffic on Bishop, with Wal-Mart's mitigations, would be fine. Law 101: Present evidence to support your case or go home.

This latest traffic study factored in Wal-Mart's contributions to help control Bishop traffic.. I'm sure the city is grateful to have Wal-Mart help pay for traffic lights (no other Pullman retail business has ever been made paid to pay for traffic lights before), as well as the extra $1 million plus a year in sales tax revenue to help with roadway improvements.

Pettenger and all the rest can just stop their sour grapes. Nothing can be done now. The decision about Wal-Mart cannot be reversed based on evidence presented now The federal and state constitutions prevent such ex post facto and violation of due process effects.

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Thank You Wal-Mart Supporters!

Wal-Mart took out this full page ad in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News to thank its supporters in Pullman, of whom there are many.

The official word from Wal-Mart is that once they nail down all of the details with the city, Wal-Mart will have a very large groundbreaking and celebration to thank all of their supporters for our patience as the legal process played out.

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Aquiferealists vs. Aquinuts

The Lewiston Tribune has been runnning a series about water issues on the Palouse. What follows below is a compilation of quotes (Aquiferealists in blue, Aquinuts in red) from several articles that were published in the Sunday issue of the Tribune, along with my comments:

King Solomon vs. Science:

"It's a little scary," says Mark Solomon, a longtime water watchdog and current hydrology doctoral student at the University of Idaho. "There is a looming water crisis."

Even with state-of-the-art technology, no amount of scientific probing will ever provide total understanding of the groundwater supply on the Palouse, says a University of Idaho hydrology and water quality professor.

"There are geophysical tools that you can use," Fritz Fiedler says of equipment designed to collect underground data. "But they aren't very accurate. And they don't work well in deep systems like we have. The main aquifer on the Palouse, which is the Grand Ronde, is about 1,000 feet deep."

"There's always going to be uncertainty that we're going to have to manage around," Fiedler says. So while more scientific data is desirable, cooperation between user groups and agencies is much more critical at this point.

"I don't think there's a looming crisis," Fiedler says. "I really don't think we're about to run dry by any means. But in the future, maybe 15 to 20 years out there, it's much harder to tell."

"I'm not saying the decisions will be here next year. I don't think the situation is that dire at all," [Jan] Boll [director of the Univeristy of Idaho Waters of the West graduate program] says. "But it's a planning process that we all need. And that's what our process is trying to develop."

In the meantime, Boll says no crisis is imminent. In fact, he says, the aquifers may be much deeper than realized at this point.

Surface water is plentiful. Reservoirs could be built. Treated runoff could be injected into the aquifers. The technology is even available to pump and pipe water from the major rivers to the south. While perhaps costly alternatives, Boll says the availability of water is more than adequate for the region.

One thing for certain, warns Boll, no amount of scientific investigation will ever provide enough answers to erase all questions about how much water is available. "The thing we need to come to grasp with is the uncertainty we will always have. There is always going to be uncertainty about how much water is left and how much we can keep pumping."

I think in this case I'll go with the professors over the "student." And since there is no way we will ever know how much water is left in the aquifer, it only seems logical to implement thoughtful conservation measures and develop economical alternatives versus the radical growth-killing solutions advocated by King Solomon and his Knights of the Water Table.

Larry Kirkland vs. Bill French

Larry Kirkland, former PBAC executive secretary, counters that there is no shortage. "The water is here. It's just a question of how we can get it."

Enough precipitation, for example, falls on the Palouse to make the shortage debate moot, say Kirkland and other experts. They contend capturing runoff in reservoirs or injecting treated surface water into underground aquifers, while costly, would meet future demands.

Kirkland, after leaving PBAC and being able to observe the big picture, warns that fears about lack of water can be used as both political and legal levers. "Water can become sort of a spotted owl to establish what you want as far as social engineering."

The spotted owl became the focus of national attention decades ago when
conservation groups used the bird's endangered species status to block logging of old-growth forests.

The potential for alternative water sources aside, [Bill] French [of the Palouse Water Conservation Network] says there's something "obscene" about the current situation. "I just think it's ethically wrong to take a 20,000-year-old resource like pristine groundwater that got into the ground during the last ice age and dump it on lawns or flush it down toilets."

"Obscene? ""Ethically wrong?" Kirkland is right. The Aquinuts ARE comparing the "pristine 20,000 year old water" to a living creature like the spotted owl to block growth on the Palouse. Let's illuminate Mr. French about the water cycle, shall we?


There will never be any more freshwater on Earth than there is now. No new water is being made and water can’t escape from the Earth. The water we use is recycled over and over again. It is never "destroyed." It just changes states or moves somewhere else. So that "pristine" water that got into the Grande Ronde aquifer during the last ice age was on the Earth's surface for hundreds of millions of years in various forms (clouds, rain, snow, ice, rivers, oceans) before that. And when it gets to the surface again to water your lawn or flush your toilet, it will stay around for hundreds of millions of more years before going back into the ground, into the ocean, etc. Water is not a living creature that can die off and go extinct forever. That same water will be here long after we are dead and gone. Arguing over water on the Palouse is as silly as arguing over dirt would be. If we can't get water from the aquifer, we'll get it from somewhere else. As the scientists above stated, this is a region that has ample water supplies through rainfall, snowfall, and rivers.

Proof that the Aquinuts are all about anti-capitalist socialism and not water conservation (as if their rejection of any proposal to recharge the aquifer or build reservoirs isn't enough proof) comes from this April 2003 Moscow Co-Op newsletter (notice that Spokane attorney Rachael Paschal Osborn, who is leading the legal fight against the WSU golf course, was at the meeting being reported on:)

...the idea that a community can only thrive with unlimited growth and development is a notion that must disappear, hopefully before the water does.

Post-World War II economy was based on a planned scheme for consumerism—and it worked. The economy grew, people consumed and planned obsolescence became an accepted norm. We become anxious when we consider voluntary reductions of any type. But, we must begin to imagine a “restorative economy” where having less is truly more satisfying, more interesting, and of course, more secure.

In the relatively near future, we must achieve a balance between what we are consuming and the capacity of the earth’s ecosystems to provide, according to author and businessman Paul Hawken. “We need to create an economy… that is not an either/or argument, but a means to create the best life for the greatest number of people precisely because we do not know the eventual outcome or impact of our current industrial practices. In other words, we need an economy based on more humility.”

Bill French vs. Michael Echanove

Not that PBAC would curb pumping if it could, suggests French, who likens the pumping entities to foxes guarding the henhouse. "I think the whole concept of PBAC is flawed. I think PBAC was mostly formed to have the appearance of doing something. And it kind of fooled the state of Idaho into not stepping in to regulate water."

"The state of Idaho has a couple of designations they can put on a groundwater basin," explains French. His and other groups, in fact, waded in amid the Naylor flap to petition the Idaho Department of Water Resources to intercede and regulate pumping from both the Wanapum and Grand Ronde.

After another round of hearings, the state backed away in favor of a local solution. That solution, suggested by the IDWR, was to form an 11-member citizens group to offer advice to the 19 representatives of PBAC. The group, says French, had the potential to be a watchdog over PBAC. "But in practice, it (the citizens group) has just become a mirror image of PBAC. It's a group of people who get together once a month and talk about stuff but they never do anything."

Michael Echanove, chairman of the citizens group as well as mayor of Palouse, disagrees with French's assessment of PBAC.

More regulatory authority, however, isn't needed, Echanove says. What's needed is more scientific data about just how big and how full or empty the aquifers really are. "Until we get that data, it's just a bunch of people with opinions. And you've got universities that have their own projects. You've got counties that have their projects. I mean, I could make a career just thinking about it."

The politics of Palouse water, Echanove says, are perhaps best illustrated by the differing opinions of his mayoral counterparts in Pullman and Moscow.

"Remember, you've got to get elected. And you've got to be able to lead and you've got to be able to look at the big picture, as such, and you can't come in with one opinion and run with it, because you're not going to get anywhere."

Yes, the Aquinuts would love nothing more than to have an unelected body of envirocrats, who would of course have to buy into the idea of "looming water crisis," to beat back every new big-box store, golf course, highway, or housing project on the Palouse.

The fact remains that PBAC HAS been successful, greatly reducing water usage on the Palouse since 1992 (8.3% less than was pumped in 2006 than in 1992) through VOLUNTARY guidelines.

Nancy Chaney vs. Glenn Johnson

Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney was accused of social engineering when she leaped across the state line into Washington to legally challenge water rights for development of the proposed Hawkins Companies shopping center.

She defends her actions as an attempt to ensure water "sustainability."

"I come from a scientific background," says Chaney, who holds a master's degree in environmental science. "I get the scientific principle. I understand objectivity. But having entered the realm of politics, I've sort of straddled that line."

Ultimately, newly elected members of the Moscow City Council usurped Chaney's political power by agreeing to not just abandon the legal appeals, but to actually supply water to Hawkins.

Chaney laments that while the politics of water continue to vacillate, the groundwater supply will continue to drop. "It's certainly political. I think we should be informed by science, but there are competing interests. So we're sort of waiting out a cost-benefit analysis. We're looking at long-term and short-term values and things we can afford to gamble with and things we cannot afford. Unfortunately, political cycles don't coincide with natural resource needs."

Eight miles away in Pullman, Mayor Glenn Johnson declines comment on Chaney's tactics. "To be honest with you, I'm leaving that one alone."

As for the politics of water on the Washington side of the border, Johnson suggests they're quite different than in Idaho, and especially Moscow. "What we're trying to do is, we're not going to discourage growth over here. We're telling everybody that 'Yes, we know we have adequate water supplies, we've had plenty of research on that. But at the same time, we want you to conserve. We want to make sure you watch your use of water.' So that's the message."

Chaney comes from a "scientific background?" Oh, brother. She's a nurse, for God's sake. The only line she is straddling is the line between San Francisco hippie and all-out barking moonbat. The Queen's "realm of politics" will be over next year. meanwhile, Mayor Johnson's pragmatic political views have earened him two unopposed terms in office.

"City puts brakes on stormwater ordinance; Manager says drafted ordinance will be re-evaluated to make sure it serves 'community as a whole'"

Hallelujah. Pullman merchants and property owners have a brief respite from the business-killing effects of the Department of Ecology's new stormwater mandates.

Of course, if businesses don't bear the majority of the financial burden, then homeowners will. I just wish the ordinance would be finalized before November. That way, Pullman residents could adequately express their feelings toward the Democrats in Olympia that have forced this upon us.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Kevin Kirkman doesn't believe enough thought was put into the stormwater utility ordinance that was presented to the Pullman City Council in June.

Kirkman, who owns KIP Development in Pullman, said the ordinance doesn't provide incentives to developers that use the environmentally sound management practices already mandated by the city.

Kirkman was among a handful of residents who commented on the drafted ordinance, presented to the council June 3. The comments have led Pullman leaders and staff to shelve the ordinance until it can be tweaked to "best serve the community as a whole," city Stormwater Manager Rob Buchert said.

Kirkman said he has properties throughout Pullman designed in a "forward thinking way" to eliminate stormwater runoff with biofiltration devices and irrigation systems.

"We can't pay for a system to be installed, maintain it and then be charged a tax on it," he said. "We're discharging clean water and there was nothing in the ordinance that addressed that ... If you don't have any discharges, how can you be taxed on something that doesn't exist?"

The ordinance will be re-evaluated and returned to the council for final review in November, rather than August as originally planned. The utility is expected to be in place by spring.

"Once this thing is an ordinance, it becomes more difficult to change," Buchert said. "We want to make every effort to ensure that when we take this to council we have as much support as possible. If it takes a few more months to tailor this to meet Pullman's needs ... that's OK."

The utility ordinance was drafted in response to a municipal stormwater permit issued last year by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Its purpose is to manage the quality and quantity of runoff from development and to control stormwater discharge into sewer systems. The estimated cost for the city to meet requirements in the permit's first five years is $4.4 million.

A consulting firm for the city reported that single-family homes in Pullman have an average of 3,500 square-feet of impervious surface, and that amount has been determined as one equivalent billing unit at a cost of $7 per month. The draft ordinance was followed by a public comment period and only five members of the community formally voiced their opinion on the impending law.

Buchert said the limited feedback isn't enough to know if the draft ordinance is best for Pullman.

Most of the comments pertained to current city laws requiring developers to use environmentally sound stormwater management practices, such as retention ponds to help with water flow and biofiltration systems in parking lots with more than 10 spots. Buchert said the developers and business owners who commented would like their efforts to yield a credit on the stormwater fees.

In the draft ordinance, credits are offered to entities with National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination Systems - a permitting system through the federal 1972 Clean Water Act. Up to 20 percent credits also are available for commercial or industrial businesses that harvest rainwater and public and private schools that pledge to participate in stormwater or surface-water education.

"We definitely wanted to honor the comments submitted and go back to the drawing board on this thing," Buchert said. "Pullman has been discussing this for over three years, so I don't think we've rushed into everything, but we want to approach it as carefully and prudently as possible."

Kirkman hopes that's the case.

"I'm encouraged that there's going to be more thought put into this," he said. "It's going to have a real financial impact on property owners."

Buchert said many portions of the ordinance could be altered following further discussion, including the $7 billing unit.

"If there's any way we can think outside the box to get that rate lower, we'll do everything in our power to do that," he said.

Buchert said the city needs the income from the utility to help recover the costs associated with the permit, but added that big-ticket items such as equipment and additional employees will not be necessary until 2009. Until the utility is created, money will continue to come from the city's street budget.

"From a program management perspective I would have loved to have a budget yesterday, but we'll make it happen," he said. "It is coming. This thing is not going away."

PALOUSITICS EXCLUSIVE - Wal-Mart: What's Next? Part Five

This is Part Five of a series of articles that will explore what happens when a Wal-Mart Supercenter comes to town.

The information contained below is being made publicly available on the web for the first time.

Covington, WA, is a fast-growing suburb of Seattle located in southeastern King County. I used to live just up the road from Covington in Kent.

Covington is booming, with many new retail and housing developments. I was there not too long ago. There is a new Safeway, I believe, with a Starbucks in it, and another Starbucks across the parking lot in the same strip mall!

In 2005, Wal-Mart opened a store there after some opposition. Building a Wal-Mart anywhere in the metroliberal Seattle area is next to impossible, as you can imagine. I've been to the Covington Wal-Mart. It is very nice and very unobtrusive, located well off the main drag of Kent-Kangley Road.

Michael Luis & Associates, a public affairs, communications and civic leadership consulting firm in the Seattle area, has prepared profiles assessing the impact of the opening of Wal-Mart stores in communities throughout Washington. The one concerning Covington can be downloaded here.

Some highlights:

The Covington Wal-Mart has only been open two years, but the impact of that store opening is clear. The major jump in sales from 2004 to 2005 reflects the opening of the new Wal-Mart in Covington, which opened its doors in early 2005.

Retail store sales growth in this fast-growing community has been even stronger and more consistent than Covington since 1998. Sales growth in Maple Valley slowed only very slightly from 2004 to 2005, during the opening year of the Covington Wal-Mart, indicating that the new Wal-Mart did not take a big bite out of retail in Maple Valley.

The retail customer traffic drawn by Wal-Mart has been a catalyst for additional retail development in the emerging “downtown” of Covington.

Covington has benefited from increased tax revenues generated by expanded retail. A major new retailer like Wal-Mart shows up most prominently in increased local sales tax revenue, but also shows up in property taxes paid on the new building and whatever mix of business and utility taxes levied by the local government.

...the jump in inflation-adjusted revenues to the City of Covington between 2001 and 2005. During this four year period alone, sales tax revenue grew an inflation adjusted 54 percent.

As part of the development of the store, Wal-Mart made significant contributions to traffic mitigation measures that will serve other retail and future residential development in Downtown Covington. According to Hart, a well-designed store and adequate traffic improvements have made Wal-Mart a major net plus for the City.

According to Messer, of the Covington Chamber, Wal-Mart is a “fantastic” contributor to the community. Store personnel are active in the chamber and in local service clubs, regularly attending events.

In 2006, Wal-Mart made two important community contributions. When the annual “Covington Days” festival was threatened with cancellation, due to lack of funding, Wal-Mart stepped up with a check for $10,000, ensuring that the festival would take place. Wal-Mart also participated in a volunteer recognition event at Covington Elementary School, providing clothes for students to wear at a fashion show.

Thursday: We'll hop over to Apple Country and look at the effects of the Wal-Mart that opened in Wenatchee.

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PALOUSITICS EXCLUSIVE - Wal-Mart: What's Next? Part Four

This is Part Four of a series of articles that will explore what happens when a Wal-Mart Supercenter comes to town.

The information contained below is being made publicly available on the web for the first time.

In 2003, after Wal-Mart announced plans to construct a Supercenter in the Olympic Peninsula town of Sequim, WA, a small, vocal group of snobs got together and decided to oppose it. They called themselves "Sequim First." These opponents of "cookie-cutter development" picked a cookie-cutter name right out of Weird Al Norman's playbook (e.g. "Give it [your Wal-Mart hating club] a short, upbeat name like 'Freeport First.'”) Sheesh.

Sequim First's tactics will sound very familiar to Pullman readers. Initially, the city council approved the project. Then Sequim First filed a lawsuit appealing the SEPA approval and the decision not to require an independent Environmental Impact Statement to the Thurston County Superior Court. The group cited significant impacts to stormwater runoff, traffic, emergency services, water supply, and other municipal services, and damaging effects on the downtown core. The court rejected the appeal on March 19, 2004. Sequim First then appealed to the state Court of Appeals in June. Nevertheless, the new Wal-Mart opened on October 22, 2004. [Note: On August 18, 2005, Sequim First wrote to the Department of Ecology requesting that Sequim be added to the same costly NPDES Phase II stormwater permitting that Pullman is saddled with, because of "the continued emphasis on almost-uncontrolled growth in Sequim." Gotta love the spitefulness of these urbanistas.]

So what happened next?

Michael Luis & Associates, a public affairs, communications and civic leadership consulting firm in the Seattle area, has prepared profiles assessing the impact of the opening of Wal-Mart stores in communities throughout Washington. The one concerning Sequim can be downloaded here.

Some highlights (notice the similarities with Pullman):

...sales in retail stores in Sequim and Clallam County as a whole were relatively flat in the first part of the decade. Sales began to pick up steam across the county in 2004, and especially in Sequim, where Wal-Mart opened in October.

Not all of the increase in retail store activity in 2004 and 2005 was due to Wal-Mart, however. ...sales at stores in Sequim, other than Wal-Mart, [saw] a substantial bump upward in 2004 and 2005. The opening of the Wal-Mart clearly did not hamper overall progress in retail expansion in Sequim.

...only a few small stores closed after Wal-Mart opened, and those were owned by people who were ready to retire and close up shop anyway. Mayor Schubert, whose professional background is in retail, believes Wal-Mart’s arrival was a useful “kick in the backside for local retailers. It forced them to get on the ball.”

The strict lids that have been instituted on property tax collections in Washington have kept these taxes from rising in areas without substantial new construction. Thus, in a city like Sequim, municipal finances have begun to rely more on sales tax for growth. ...sales tax collections in Sequim have increased substantially as large new retailers have opened in the city.

...four revenue sources...generated about $2.5 million in 2001, or about $575 per resident. This had increased to $3.9 million by 2005, or about $835 per resident. By
accommodating Wal-Mart and other retailers, Sequim stemmed the leakage of sales tax revenue to Port Angeles and other communities, and captured tax revenue from shoppers living in surrounding unincorporated areas.

Between 1995 and 2005, while the population of Clallam County grew by 10 percent, retail employment grew by over 40 percent. Overall employment in the county has been growing steadily, and the current unemployment rate, about 5.5 percent, is low by recent historic standards. Schubert says that with employers like Wal-Mart, “people who didn’t have jobs eight years ago now have jobs.”

As Sequim grew from a small rural town to an important tourist destination and retirement community, local retailing did not keep pace. Local retailers were adept at catering to visitors, but not at filling basic needs of residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes. Wal-Mart and other big box retailers have met this need, saving local residents from having to drive to Port Angeles or Silverdale.

Wednesday: We'll take a look at the effects of a Wal-Mart that opened in the Seattle suburb of Covington.

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"Group sues over WSU water rights decision"

I was struck with the similarity between this quote from urban planner Richard Carson's essay, "Wicked Thoughts at a Public Hearing:"

The outraged and uninformed neighbor spends money to hire a lawyer and possibly other experts to prove that a proposed development project is an abomination against nature (their nature) and violates all manner of codes and the comprehensive plan. This outrage results in an appeal of a staff or planning commission decision to the locally elected officials, and ultimately to a land use appellate board or a state court of appeals.

In every state there is a cottage industry made up of professionals who make a living aiding and abetting such unhappy neighbors. I say "cottage industry" because many of these folks pride themselves on their anti-establishment and a counter-culture lifestyle that is strangely at odds with the often gluttonous lifestyles of the property owners they represent. It is a perverse fact of life that instead of buying the now offending property, the neighboring property owner ends up financially supporting people he (or she) otherwise would shun. You know, like lawyers with names like Freedom Child.

And this quote from today's Daily News:

A group of conservationists is continuing its legal fight against a decision that allows Washington State University to consolidate its water rights.

Rachael Paschal Osborn, a Spokane-based attorney with the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, filed a lawsuit Thursday against WSU, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board.

Osborn represents the Palouse Water Conservation Network, the Palouse Group Sierra Club and Pullman-area resident Scotty Cornelius.

I just want to know who is financially supporting the anti-development cottage industry. Prince Cornelius is not doing it on his own.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

A group of conservationists is continuing its legal fight against a decision that allows Washington State University to consolidate its water rights.

Rachael Paschal Osborn, a Spokane-based attorney with the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, filed a lawsuit Thursday against WSU, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board.

The lawsuit, filed in Whitman County Superior Court, is a request for review of the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board's April decision that shot down the group's appeal of an Ecology decision granting WSU's water rights consolidation.

Osborn represents the Palouse Water Conservation Network, the Palouse Group Sierra Club and Pullman-area resident Scotty Cornelius. They claim the WSU consolidation will allow WSU to annually pump more than three times as much water as it currently does.

The Pollution Control Hearings Board based its decision on the state's 2003 Municipal Water Law, which allowed Ecology to issue water rights based on how much a municipal system's pumps and pipes can handle, rather than how much water actually is needed. The Municipal Water Law was challenged by conservationists and a handful of American Indian tribes, and key parts of it were ruled unconstitutional by a King County Superior Court judge in June.

The King County ruling could affect the amount of water WSU is allowed to pump on an annual basis, considering the university is deemed a municipality under the water law.

The consolidation permit allows the university to pump up to 5,300 acre feet, or 1.72 billion gallons, of water each year. However, WSU only pumped 505 million gallons of water in 2007, when irrigation began on the new golf course. That's an increase from the 477 million gallons it pumped in 2006.

Osborn said the King County decision provides additional ammo for her case.

"The board found WSU's water rights were valid based on the Municipal Water Law. Now, King County has held that it's not constitutional. So the very law the board and Ecology relied on is invalid," she said. "We've known all along that these cases would affect each other."

WSU spokesman James Tinney said university officials are hoping for a positive outcome.

"The substance of (the lawsuit) was not a big surprise, but we think our position will be upheld in court," he said. "We agreed with the Department of Ecology's original decision and the Pollution Control Hearings Board's original decision. We hope that will prevail in court this time around, too."

In 2006, Ecology granted WSU's request to consolidate its seven wells. The Pollution Control Hearings Board reviewed the conservationists' initial appeal in January, and ruled April 17 that they did not prove that the consolidation would negatively affect other wells in the area. The board also denied the group's request for reconsideration.

Last month, Osborn filed an appeal of the hearings board's April decision in Whitman County Superior Court.

The group points to the university's new 18-hole Palouse Ridge Golf Club as a project that will create more drawdown of the area's primary water source.

Osborn said the case in Whitman County Superior Court will allow oral argument and testimony in front of a judge only. Ecology and WSU have 20 days from Thursday to file a response to the lawsuit. A conference likely will then take place to set a court date.

PALOUSITICS EXCLUSIVE - Wal-Mart: What's Next? Part Three

This is Part Three of a series of articles that will explore what happens when a Wal-Mart Supercenter comes to town.

The information contained below is being made publicly available on the web for the first time.

I've always dreamed that one day the opponents of Wal-Mart in Pullman will make a factual argument to support their case, rather than resort to "special-interest propaganda," "symbolism over substance," "pejorative labels," and "playing on the average citizen's distrust of corporate America," as detailed by Richard Carson. I'm still waiting.

"Progressive" Amir Hassan writes in today's Summer Watermelon:

Likewise, small businesses find themselves unable to compete with Wal-Mart’s rock-bottom prices. A Pullman Supercenter will choke and kill much of our beloved local commerce.

I suppose one can't argue with a self-styled "expert" on Pullman economics who is also a Rhetoric and Composition grad student from Seattle who uses apocryphal stories and far-left websites to support his arguments. Nevertheless, let's take a look at some hard data anyway.

The Simeon Partnership, an economic and public policy consulting firm in Bainbridge Island, WA, prepared a study in 2005 of long-term economic impacts of the Wal-Mart that opened in the small coastal Washington city of Aberdeen back in 1994. The study examined impacts on local businesses, as well as tax revenue and worker wages. The brief summarizing the study can be downloaded here.

Some highlights:

“Not one business went out of business because of Wal-Mart,” says Michael Tracy. He should know. Tracy heads up the Grays Harbor Economic Development Council. His organization has tried to identify and help businesses affected by Wal-Mart’s decision to locate in Aberdeen in 1994.

“Understand,” says Tracy, “there was high unemployment at the time and businesses were going out of business right and left. But, not because of Wal-Mart.” Wal-Mart slowed the flow of people leaving Grays Harbor to do their shopping in Olympia, he says.

Aberdeen and Grays Harbor County had real gains of 13 percent and 7 percent, respectively in taxable retail sales from retail trade from 1995 through 2003.

“The threat to locally owned businesses is not Wal-Mart,” Tipton says, “it’s I-5 to Tumwater, Lacey and Portland. Wal-Mart has slowed [Aberdeen’s retail sales leakage] considerably.” When local shoppers stay in town to buy their basics at Wal-Mart, he says, they are more likely to look locally first for their other needs and to comparison shop at home, given the opportunity.

Wal-Mart captured an increasing share of a increasing retail sales base in Aberdeen and Grays Harbor County between 1995 and 2002. As Figure 3 shows, taxable retail sales from retail trade in Aberdeen and Grays Harbor County kept pace with inflation even without Wal-Mart over this period, demonstrating that Wal-Mart not only increased its market share, it helped grow the size of pie.

...the city’s revenues have grown in all categories since 1994. Sales and Use Taxes have been a good source of revenue growth – up 9 percent after inflation from 1994 through 2003 – but the big growth category for the city’s general services has been Business and Utility Taxes, which was up 16 percent after inflation. These are taxes levied by the city on various special services like water, sewer and garbage.

Adjusted for inflation, Wal-Mart’s sales tax contribution to the city grew 89 percent from 1996 to 2002. At the same time Wal-Mart’s share of city sales taxes paid doubled as its tax contributions grew well ahead of overall city sales tax growth.

Total wages in Grays Harbor County paid by stores in the general merchandise category, like Wal-Mart, grew from $4.6 million in 1993 to $6.5 million in 1994 the year Wal-Mart opened – a 39 percent increase after inflation. And, average general merchandise employment went from 345 to 477 jobs.

On average general merchandise stores in Grays Harbor County paid their employees about $13,263 annually in 1993 before Wal-Mart came to town. By 2003 this average annual wage had grown to $21,432. Even after adjusting for inflation, general merchandise workers experienced 21 percent growth in their real average wages.

Tuesday: We'll take a look at what happened over in Sequim, after much controversy in opening a Wal-Mart Supercenter there.

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Our Local Urbanistas Versus Wal-Mart

Rabid Wal-Mart hater Tom Hansen sent select Venom 2020 subscribers a link to a website containing essays by Richard Carson, a professional urban planner in Oregon. For some reason, Carson's essay titled "The Urbanistas versus Big-Box Retail" was not on Hansen's list of favorites.

Carson totally skewers all the big-box bashers like Hansen, No Super Wal-Mart, PARD, et. al.

Some great quotes:

Unfortunately, too often people blur the line between land use issues and social issues. These days big-box is intentionally being associated with "suburban sprawl". But the illusion created by special-interest propaganda is the real issue. It is not necessarily about the economic or social reality. What we really have going on is the usual symbolism over substance tactics that are typical of many anti-growth organizations. Americans believe in a free citizenry and a free market economy. However, the Urbanistas do not believe in a free market when it comes to big box retail and they want citizens to live in their urban design fantasy land. They believe Americans need to be forced to live Potemkin villages reminiscent of the movie "The Truman Show".

In order for these social engineers to attract financial supporters and sympathetic voters, they use pejorative labels like "sprawl," "big-box" or "McMansion" and "category killers". They intentional play on the average citizen's distrust of corporate American and their tendency to say "Not in my back yard" in the face of any community change.

[snip]

In my opinion, the "Urbanistas" need to start dealing with the retail reality that Main Street America literally buys into big-box retail, and dump their negative rhetoric and their unsellable political agenda. May be they should take a tip from big-box retail and actually give American citizens something they actually care about. Like a political agenda that has an actual tangible value.

Al Norman has taken that "special-interest propaganda" nationwide and makes a nice living off of it.

Read the whole thing and learn the true agenda behind our "neighborhood activists."

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Weird Al and the Mayor

Obnoxious liberal loudmouth Weird Al Norman has made a lucrative career out of reassuring wealthy suburban snobs that their elitist disdain of Wal-Mart and those that shop there is actually "protecting worker's rights" and stopping "urban sprawl." You can hear Norman rant about his hatred of Wal-Mart in person for only $5,000, plus expenses.

Norman is also a paid union shill, running "Battle-Mart" for the Service Employees International Union astroroots front organization "Wal-Mart Watch" and speaking on behalf of big labor all over the country.

Now, Weird Al has turned his sights on our mayor, Glenn Johnson. On his web site, Sprawl Busters, Norman urges "readers" to write to Mayor Johnson and the Pullman City Council urging them to pass a raft of socialistic, business-killing ordinances, much like Moscow did a few years ago.

Norman, who lives 3,000 miles away in Massachusetts (it figures), obviously has no clue that Mayor Johnson, the "Voice of the Cougars," is one of the most beloved and respected figures in the history of our town (he has been elected mayor twice with no opposition.) Norman chides Johnson:

If Wal-Mart is a ‘very good thing,’ why were so many residents upset about this project? These people that you say cost the city lost revenues-—these are your taxpayers, your constituents. You are the Mayor of all Pullman residents, not just the Mayor of Corporate Interests. Zoning decisions do not have to be a win/lose situation. When people believe they are on the losing end of a deal—they are usually right. Pullman was not prepared for a project of this scale. It’s time to bring your zoning code into the 21st century, before more big boxes saturate your city with highway sprawl.”

What a patently absurd allegation. Glenn Johnson is a professor at the same university as are the professors of PARD. He is beholden to no "Corporate Interests."

It is also laughable that Norman calls on Mayor Johnson to respect the feelings of the few dozen of his constituents that make up PARD, while simultaneously calling on people all over the country who are neither taxpayers nor constituents to write the mayor and city council and meddle in Pullman's affairs. This is just like a few years ago when PARD was soliciting donations from all over the country on Norman's website.

Send Weird Al an e-mail here and tell him and his "readers" to keep their snooty noses out of our business. Let's fill up his inbox! You might just get lucky and get a nasty reply from Weird Al himself.

Also, while you're at it, send an e-mail to Mayor Johnson and the Pullman City Council here and express your thanks for staying strong during this process, upholding the will of the majority of the electorate and not caving in to the special interests of a few.

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More Fun With The Hit Counter

Looks like the good folks at Shopko corporate headquarters in Green Bay, WI, now know for sure that they will no longer have the only big-box store in Pullman.

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"Wal-Mart is welcome"

There is a very nice tribute to Don Pelton from SEL Public Affairs Director and BREO board member Susan Fagan in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

I am truly thankful that we can move ahead with the construction of our Wal-Mart store here in Pullman. It will give us more choices and save fuel, and we'll also save money. And I still plan to shop at Safeway and Dissmore IGA because they provide great customer service.

I'm sure I speak for many who appreciate our city officials and the Pullman City Council for their leadership and steadfast efforts through this entire process. Even though I believe the delay and multiple appeals were unnecessary and cost us valuable time and resources, I am grateful for our form of open and accessible government. Reading the headlines tonight, however, I couldn't help feeling some sadness - our good friend and Wal-Mart supporter Don Pelton did not live long enough to see this day. Don, if you're looking down on us tonight, and, like me, you're reading the Daily News and enjoying the sweet victory, please take credit for providing your consistent, thoughtful views that helped us keep our eye on the bigger economic picture.

Susan Fagan, Pullman

We miss you, Don.

"Developer: PARD decision lets city 'move forward'; End of legal fight against Wal-Mart expected to hasten other development projects in Pullman"

In answer to the question, "Tom, why did you, April and the others fight so hard to see Wal-Mart come to Pullman?", native son and Pullman's biggest and most successful developer Duane Brelsford, Jr., says it all:

I'm not a pro-Wal-Mart person and I'm not an anti-Wal-Mart person. What I am for is what Wal-Mart will bring, and it's other national tenants, and that's what Pullman needs.

Kudos to Hillary Hamm for bring out the truth about the real "Wal-Mart effect" in Pullman. It's not "urban blight" and loss of business as PARD falsely claimed. It's new jobs, new tax revenue, and new opportunities. Her article details many of the exciting new things we can expect to see soon on Bishop Boulevard. What an exciting time for this city.

Stay turned next week for a series of reports on what we can expect to happen after Wal-Mart comes to town.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Development projects that were on hold pending the outcome of a legal case against a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Pullman now are on the fast track for completion.

Corporate Point Developers President Duane Brelsford said he's pushing to begin construction as early as this year on three projects around Bishop Boulevard, where the super center is expected to be built.

The Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development announced Wednesday it will not appeal a Washington Division III Court of Appeals ruling that clears the way for construction of the super center. The decision effectively ends the group's four-year legal fight against Wal-Mart.

A Wal-Mart representative said the company is designing the Pullman super center, with plans to open on Bishop Boulevard in late 2009 or early 2010.

Brelsford said he can start the projects that were dependent on the super-center being built.

"Most of our tenants were pending Wal-Mart's location," he said. "Now Pullman can move forward. And that's what I'm excited about."

Brelsford said it's about time projects can get started.

"I'm not a pro-Wal-Mart person and I'm not an anti-Wal-Mart person," he said. "What I am for is what Wal-Mart will bring, and it's other national tenants, and that's what Pullman needs."

Brelsford said pending projects include a 600-square-foot facility for a "national coffee chain" to be located adjacent to the Wal-Mart store and the development of 10 acres on South Grand Avenue for future retail, and possibly hospitality tenants.

Development of Pullman Building Supply also can get under way on a 15-acre plot near the Wal-Mart site. The new Pullman Building Supply store will replace its smaller store on North Grand Avenue. Pat Garrett, owner of both the Pullman and Moscow Building Supply stores, did not return calls for comment.

Brelsford said he's also aware of a California man who purchased land near the Bishop Boulevard Jiffy Lube for development pending Wal-Mart's construction.

City Supervisor John Sherman said Wal-Mart's construction is likely to spark further development. He added that the Pullman-Moscow area's population is expected to exceed the 50,000 mark in the 2010 Census and that Washington State University anticipates its highest freshmen enrollment ever in the fall. Those all are good signs for more development, as are the success of high-tech businesses like Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and Pullman Regional Hospital, he said.

"I think Pullman is just very, very well-positioned to attract more people here. And when you do that, it opens opportunities in the retail sector, too," he said. "All in all, I think the fact that Wal-Mart is coming in is going to be a major plus as far as providing more shopping for citizens and expanding our tax base."

Sherman said the Wal-Mart Supercenter - which will provide groceries and retail items - may help draw shoppers into Pullman rather than Moscow.

"The Palouse Mall has had a decades-long effect on Pullman," he said, noting that the number of stores in Moscow draws business away from Pullman.

Sherman said he doesn't expect Pullman to become a shopping metropolis, "but we can start to become a community that is more balanced in its economy."

"I think the future for Pullman is very bright," he added. "If Wal-Mart chooses to come to your community, it's pretty much a check-off point for other businesses. That's a good sign."

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"Pullman Wal-Mart opposition will not appeal"

PARD will continue to encourage residents to shop locally? So does that mean they will encourage people to shop at our local Wal-Mart they way they have encouraged people to shop at our other local big-box store, Shopko?

From KLEW TV:

PULLMAN - What has been an almost constant fight against a Wal-Mart in Pullman may be over.

Early this month, a Washington Court of Appeals sided with the City of Pullman and the Spokane Valley developer who wants to build a Wal-Mart supercenter on Bishop Boulevard. The Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development, who has fought Wal-Mart in a number of courts, announced they will not appeal that decision to the state Supreme Court.

Through a press release, April Coggins, a member of the Pullman citizens group known as BREO, said it's a day of celebration, and that "The long and pointless legal delays are finally over."

The company plans to break ground on the SuperCenter next year.

PARD said it will continue to encourage residents to shop locally.

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"Wal-Mart foes drop appeal plans; Pullman group opts not to push issue to Supreme Court"

I love David Johnson. He is the only true journalist we have in the Quad Cities. When you read this article, look at how he covers all sides of the issue, even bringing in Moscow and the recent Thompson rezone.

From today's Lewiston Tribune:

PULLMAN - The legal wrestling over construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter here appears to have ended Thursday with members of the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development abandoning their appeal options.

"This is a day for celebration in Pullman," responded a spokeswoman for the competing Businesses and Residents for Economic Opportunity group.

Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson labeled the development "a very good thing," and a Wal-Mart spokeswoman confirmed the store should be open for business no later than early 2011.

PARD's decision, announced by board member Cynthia Hosick, comes three weeks after the Washington Division III Court of Appeals denied PARD's latest effort to stop construction by upholding a lower court decision.

"The long and pointless legal delays are finally over," BREO's April Coggins wrote in a news release. "Many people have worked very hard to make this day a reality."

Hosick said PARD members voted via e-mail against pushing their case to the Washington Supreme Court. PARD spokespersons have maintained since Wal-Mart announced its plans that a majority of Pullman residents are against the company building a 228,000-square-foot store along Bishop Boulevard.

But BREO representatives point to recent polls indicating most people favor Wal-Mart's arrival and fear other retailers have delayed coming to Pullman amid the perception of an anti-business atmosphere. Coggins called for protection against a repeat. "The laws must be changed to never allow a small group, with absolutely no proof or evidence whatsoever, to subvert the will of the majority for so long," she wrote.

PARD representatives have claimed evidence about unsavory Wal-Mart business practices, coupled with unanswered questions about construction plans. Most recently, the group pointed to a traffic study that shows several million dollars' worth of maintenance and infrastructure will be needed to accommodate the big-box store.

Pullman City Attorney Laura McAloon, who confirmed after the appeals court decision Wal-Mart simply has to apply for a building permit to start the project, more recently warned the city might seek payment of legal costs if PARD continued its appeal methods. "The court rejected all their arguments," she said.

A similar effort by Wal-Mart to build a super center in Moscow was stymied more than a year ago when the company abandoned plans amid a protracted zoning dispute. Part of the property where the store was proposed, however, has now been rezoned to allow big-box stores.

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