Wal-Mart confirms Woodland store
Tuesday, June 13, 2006 7:09 AM PDT
By Evan Caldwell
Printable version
E-mail this articleWal-Mart confirmed Monday it will build a supercenter store in Woodland and the public can now check out and comment on the company's plans.
The city of Woodland determined that the proposed 163,000-square-foot store will not adversely impact the environment. Now, the public can look at the submitted information, decide for themselves and provide feedback that will possibly change the retail giant's development plan.
The construction of the retail and grocery store, to be located at the intersection of Dike Road and Schurman Way on the west side of Exit 22, entered the State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, phase last week. SEPA requires state and local agencies to consider the likely environmental consequences of a proposal before approving or denying the proposal.
The public can review the information and materials at the City's Web site and click on public notices or by picking up a packet from City Hall -- and choose to file an appeal by June 27. People also can submit public comments to the city on the proposed project by June 21.
(Free Adobe Acrobat reader required to read packet on the Web.)
"We are looking for people to send in all kinds of public comments, because we do look at them all, positive and negative," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jennifer Holder said. "We want people to comment on the landscaping and the streets; we want them to make this their own Wal-Mart."
Public comments already have led to Wal-Mart looking into the possibility of installing a roundabout instead of a traditional intersection near the store, Holder said.
And because of public comments, a store in California became art deco-themed and stores in Sequim, Wash., and Poulsbo, Wash., are log cabin-inspired, she said.
The proposed plan includes stormwater plans, parking layout, SEPA's environmental checklist and site designs, Woodland planning assistant Nancy Malone said Monday.
"Anyone can come in and ask for a copy of the packet," Malone said. "Maybe they'll feel they did not properly address the traffic needs and appeal, for example."
If appeals are submitted, there will be a public comment period and then another round of revisions.
In early May, Jim Chumbley, who owns the 18-acre site, said he will sell it to PacLand, a Portland developer. PacLand representatives did not return phone calls Monday.
When construction does start, it should take between nine and 11 months to build, Holder said. (Neither the city nor Wal-Mart has an estimated starting date on construction.) Then, it will take about 90 days after construction is completed to bring in inventory, set up the store and hire workers, she added.
Wal-Mart decided to build a store in Woodland in part because of its growth and area customers travelling to supercenters in Chehalis or Vancouver, Holder said.
The store will include general merchandise, groceries, tire and lube express, garden center, hair salon, pharmacy, photo lab and vision center, according to documents filed with the city of Woodland.
Holder said the store will eventually employ between 350 and 500 full- and part-time workers. Typically, 70 percent of Wal-Mart employees are full time, she said.
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