A citizens group opposed to plans for a Wal-Mart supercenter in an old McCandless shopping center said Monday that it intends to appeal a judge's ruling in favor of the town's July approval of the project.
“We have daily traffic backups already. This Wal-Mart would bring an overwhelming amount of traffic to this area,” said McCandless resident Dennis Kissane, who is among 17 plaintiffs and a member of Citizens of McCandless, formed last summer to fight the big-box store on Blazier Drive.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. wants to build a 150,000-square-foot supercenter in an existing shopping center between Blazier Drive's intersections with Ingomar and McKnight roads. The store would be open 24 hours a day and contain a grocery store and an auto repair shop.
Besides traffic issues, the plaintiffs claim the property is too small for the development and that the town violated their due process rights by speeding the project through planning commission, zoning committee and council approvals in July without giving proper public notice.
McCandless officials argue that the property has been zoned for commercial use for about 35 years and used to contain a Kmart and a Kroger grocery store.
In an order last week, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Joseph James said Wal-Mart presented its applications at regularly scheduled zoning committee and planning commission meetings that were properly advertised.
In response to the contention that the proposed Wal-Mart site is too small, James cited zoning rules requiring a C-5 District to be at least 30 acres in size. The district where the store would be built totals 45 acres; the two parcels that are part of the development plan are 28.99 acres, James wrote.
“Well, I think it's a very strong decision, and I think it supports the position that the council has taken,” McCandless Solicitor William Ries said.
“We are pleased with the trial court's decision and hope to be able to move forward soon on a new store that will help us better serve our customers,” Wal-Mart spokesman William C. Wertz said.
Wal-Mart plans to buy the property from Wheeling, W.Va.-based WesBanco Inc., which did not return calls for comment.
“We would like to see a smarter, more thoughtful development of an area that is not on a main highway,” said McCandless resident Rita Martin, another member of the citizens group and a plaintiff in the case.
The citizens group has raised enough money to pay its legal bills, but it will need to start another fund drive to appeal the matter to Commonwealth Court, Martin said.
Nearby businesses have contributed financially to the legal fight because they would be affected by a Wal-Mart, Martin said. She declined to name them or the amount that has been raised, but said most of the funds came from individuals.
Giant Eagle Inc., which has a supermarket near the site, said last year that it helped the community group with an effort to conduct opinion polling.
The site where Wal-Mart plans to build is occupied by a Blazier Drive building that contains discount store Trader Horn and retail beer distributor Brew'ry Outlet, and a vacant building that used to host a Bally Total Fitness and Sun Books. Wal-Mart plans to demolish those buildings.
Tory N. Parrish is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-380-5662 or tparrish@tribweb.com.
