Kaine, Howell oppose Wilderness Wal-Mart plans

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and House Speaker William J. Howell have asked Orange County officials to consider finding a new site for a Wal-Mart Supercenter planned for development near a Civil War battlefield.

In a letter dated Monday and received by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, the two wrote, "We believe that the Wal-Mart project presents a unique opportunity to bring the interests of battlefield preservation and smart development effectively into balance."

Wal-Mart wants to build a store at a site just off the road at the intersection of state Routes 3 and 20.

The site is about 1 mile from the entrance to the Wilderness Battlefield. It has been zoned for commercial development for about three decades and already has a short strip mall, a bank and a convenience store.

The site is not part of the nearby battlefield national park, but preservationists say the land was part of the Wilderness battle.

While the area is zoned for retail use, the Orange County Planning Commission had to consider a special-use permit for Wal-Mart last month because of the proposed size of the store. The commission approved the plan. The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing July 27 and vote on the issue in August.

R. Mark Johnson, one of the county's five supervisors, said the board discussed the letter during Tuesday's regularly scheduled meeting and was considering how it would respond.

"Out of respect for the board, I wouldn't want to say anything before we release a statement," he said yesterday. He said he expected a formal statement from the board within a week.

A spokesman for Wal-Mart said the company agreed with Kaine and Howell but thought its proposal made the intervention unnecessary.

"We wholeheartedly agree this project presents the unique opportunity to bring the interests of battlefield preservation and smart development effectively into balance, and that is precisely what we have accomplished with our current proposal," spokesman Keith Morris said.

"The site [outside the boundaries of the Wilderness Battlefield] has been zoned appropriately for commercial development for more than 20 years, is consistent with the county's comprehensive plan for future growth, and is in an area where more than 5,000 residential homes and other compatible commercial development are already built out dramatically closer to the preserved boundaries of the Wilderness Battlefield than our project."

A group of historians, preservations and assorted celebrities, including actors Robert Duvall and Ben Stein, have opposed the store because of its proximity to the entrance to the battlefield.

"This is a major message for the executives of Wal-Mart," said Rob Nieweg, head of the Southern field office for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has opposed the location of the store. "This is the top leadership of both parties speaking against it. We hope Wal-Mart is listening."

It's not the first time commercial development on or near a Virginia battlefield has become a national issue. In 1988, the federal government bought land from a developer who wanted to build a mall near the Manassas National Battlefield. In 1993, Disney proposed, and then abandoned, plans for a historic-based theme park in the same area.

Kaine and Howell "have a history of being battlefield preservationists," Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey said. "The governor knows that battlefields are good business for the state. But he also knows that business is good business."

Hickey said the hope was that county officials would at least consider alternative sites.

"We are a bit surprised but very grateful," said Jim Campi, the communications director for the Civil War Preservation Trust. "They have been tremendous champions for preservation."

Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .