THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411050001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
In Accomack County, on Virginia's Eastern Shore, a familiar debate rages: whether a Wal-Mart store would bring a new era of customer choice or end retailing as it has been practiced for decades by small-town stores. The answer is at least some of both, and that does not sit well with those resisting change and competition.
Still, it's questionable that the local Board of Zoning Appeals should take the role of protecting the status quo. The body did that recently, voting 2-1 (with one member absent and another abstaining because of possible conflict of interest) against a special-use permit for a shopping center that its Eastern Shore developer said would include a Wal-Mart discount department store, Lowe's building-supply store and smaller tenants.
Opponents of the land-use change put their resistance in lofty terms.
They say it would be contrary to public welfare and the public interest; that a 309,000-square-foot shopping center just off U.S. Route 13 would cause hardship for nearby, smaller shopping centers and for merchants in the neighboring towns of Onancock, Onley and Parksley and that decline, in turn, would bring unemployment, lower property values and reduced tax revenue for the towns and the county.
The argument rings hollow with Shore residents who crave more shopping choices at prices lowered by the volume purchases of national retailers. With only one major department store each in Accomack and Northampton counties, residents seeking more diverse shopping must travel north to Salisbury, Md., or south to Hampton Roads, via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel ($20 round trip).
Opposition to the special-use permit came primarily from business owners, not everyday citizens.
The presumption is, if shoppers were anxious about preserving small-town merchants, they'd patronize them - perhaps rating personalized service above selection or even lower prices. The Wal-Marts and other successful discounters across America attest that shoppers want service and convenience, choice and reasonable prices, and that most of them no longer look to get all of those things from small businesses.
The developer of the proposed shopping center has three options: Again ask the Board of Zoning Appeals for a special permit for the shopping center, on land now zoned mostly agricultural; seek rezoning from the Board of Supervisors; appeal the decision to Circuit Court.
The developer, miffed at the Accomack County Board of Zoning Appeals, said she also would consider moving the project to neighboring Northampton. That leaves Accomack County officials to decide whether it's better for the county to gain the employment and tax revenues of high-volume corporate neighbors or fight a losing battle to keep things the way they've always been.
Even the most eloquent arguments about protecting the charming Eastern Shore against the ``Wal-Marting of America'' - which certainly has its drawbacks - ignore that shopping habits won't be modified by restricting local shopping opportunities. In this instance, provincialism may be less in the public interest than Sam Walton's Wal-Mart empire.
KEYWORDS: ACCOMACK COUNTY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
by CNB