The years-long battle over whether Wal-Mart will go into a planned Chandler shopping center at Riggs Road and Arizona Avenue took an unusual turn this week.
Three Chandler city councilmen and a council candidate showed up at a gathering of about 40 neighborhood opponents in Basha Library Wednesday night to voice their personal objections to the project - even though they could potentially have to vote on it in the near future. Two even offered the group tips on how to fight the development.
Councilmen Matt Orlando, Bob Caccamo and Kevin Hartke and candidate Rick Heumann said they are opposed to the plan's design and location - but stressed that the city can't discriminate against Wal-Mart. Orlando and Heumann offered suggestions on terminology the critics should use, who to contact with their objections and which parts of the proposal they could challenge. At one point Orlando deferred to Heumann, noting a potential conflict of interest challenge by the developer if the matter went before the current council.
"Keep focusing on land use, traffic patterns, aesthetics," Orlando advised the group. "Keep the letters and e-mails coming, keep hammering away and build public momentum on your side. I'm not against Wal-Mart, but they deserve to be in the right place and this isn't it."
Heumann, a former member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, offered a list of terms and tactics. "You can be very specific," he told the group. "Stipulations on the size of buildings, hours of operations, size of trees, number of drive-thrus, how many pads," he said.
Heumann urged them to e-mail commission members and attend the commission's meeting next week. That spurred a light-hearted response from Hartke: "So if Rick gets elected, he just put his head in a noose and can't vote on it."
Orlando, Hartke and Heumann are on the Nov. 4 council election ballot. Caccamo's term expires in 2010.
Full Story: http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2008
/09/11/20080911cr-walmart0911-ON.html
