Walmart: Sheathing Time

By: | Times-Dispatch
Published: August 28, 2009

There is a resonant symmetry in the determination by historic-preservation groups to continue fighting what they might consider the War of Walmart's Aggression. But the effort is misguided.

Preservationists made their case against the special-use permit that would allow a superstore near a Civil War battlefield in Orange. They lost. They should not now start fighting a guerrilla campaign -- in the weeds or in the courts -- to reverse a decision they do not like. If Walmart had lost the vote then it, too, would have been wise to accept the decision and move on.

Although we deferred to the judgment of public officials in Orange as to whether a special-use permit should be issued, several points seem to militate in Walmart's favor:

--(1)A special-use permit would not have been required at all had the supervisors not passed a new ordinance this year.

--(2)Walmart has taken pains to respect the historic importance of the nearby Wilderness Battlefield by agreeing to put one-third of the property in a perpetual conservation easement.

--(3)Alternatives to a Walmart on the commercially zoned property could be even worse. As Henry Lee Carter noted in a Commentary column earlier this summer, "There are now two strip malls containing about 20 stores, a large gas station, convenience store, fast-food restaurant, bank, and auto leasing business between [the] Walmart [location] and the historically significant property . . . .[I]f Walmart goes away tomorrow, the owner can place a large number of 59,000-square-foot buildings on the site without any of the protections contained in the County's Retail Guidelines and Ordinance."

--(4)It is hard to escape the impression that snobbery might color the attitudes of some opponents who may never have set foot in either a Walmart or the county. Yet residents of Orange seem enthusiastic about having a Walmart in their midst. Presumed betters elsewhere have no business imposing their views on the county.

We would not have wept if the vote had gone the other way, but it is time for Walmart's foes to sheathe their swords and go home.