Being Respectful In St. Charles dot ORG advocates respect towards commercial development in St. Charles, Illinois.
The public hearings for the proposed WalMart SuperCenter on the property between Foxfield Drive and Charlestowne Mall are specifically limited to the three special uses. Discussion and/or testimony concerning the permitted uses for the property (i.e. the retail portion of the WalMart) are not part of the hearings. The special use parts of the application are as follows:
Q. How do I stop WalMart from building on this location?
A. You can't. If WalMart did not apply for the three special uses above, it would not need hearings at all. They could apply for a building permit at any time and begin construction immediately. The subject property was zoned commercial back in 1991 and a retail location is a permitted use for the site.
Q. Can the special uses be denied?
A. Difficult at best. Sears currently operates a tire and lube facility in Charlestowne Mall which is in the same PUD (Planned Unit Development). Drive thru pharmacies are already in use at the Jewel/Osco and Walgreens, both of which are located closer to residential property and with less screening. Walmart already operates with outdoor sales at its current location across Smith Road. In each of these cases, it would be very difficult to deny the special uses.
Q. Then what can I do?
You can't stop WalMart, but you CAN control them. Focus your efforts on working with your city government to make sure that all applicable building codes are followed. Work with the police department on traffic enforcement along Foxfield Drive. Work WITH WalMart to have your issues/concerns addressed BEFORE the SuperCenter is built.
Send your questions and comments to comments@brisc.org.