By Neale Gulley<br><a href="mailto:gulleyn@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Neale</a>
The environmental impact statement on the proposed Wal-Mart project in North Tonawanda was made public Monday.
City officials are now picking over the 182-page document, making notes.
Based on its findings, the North Tonawanda Planning Commission will decide whether or not Wal-Mart rolls back into North Tonawanda for good.
“With our findings, we will then say ‘yes, the project can move forward, or, no, the project is dead,’” Planning Commission Chairman Gary Przewozny said.
On May 12, the planning commission accepted the “completeness” of efforts to compile the report, and mitigate numerous concerns raised in two public hearings and from input involving at least 20 city, state, county and corporate entities.
“The traffic is the big issue right now,” Przewozny said. “That’s pretty much always been the big issue with everybody.”
At the special meeting May 12, the planning commission agreed research was sufficient to begin considering a decision of the various mitigations that have been addressed throughout the process.
Written public comments will be accepted as they establish their findings, but according to Fred Frank, of Wendel Duchscherer, the city’s project advisor hired to handle aspects of the Wal-Mart project, the law allows 10 days for public and corporate groups with a say in creating the environmental report to gather additional input, and the time for residents to significantly sway the results is over.
If a majority of the commission agree on approval, the next step would involve voting on granting a site plan approval.
Przewozny said it would be unlikely the group would approve their findings but not a site plan.
One outstanding element of the Melody Fair location involves city ownership of Bluebird Drive, which leads into the lot. The city still has to either sell or donate the strip to Wal-Mart.
He said any grievances that could stall a decision by June 2 would only result in an additional meeting next month, at which time he expects a decision would have to be made either in favor or opposed to the project.
“We’ve reached out to the assessor’s office to get a value as to what the Bluebird property would be worth,” he said. “Ultimately the decision (to sell it) is by the mayor and the Common Council — that definitely needs to happen.”
Attorney David Seeger represents the group NT First, which is comprised of residents from two neighborhoods — Wurlitzer Park and Martinsville — near the proposed building site on the Melody Fair grounds. Many residents there feel the most discussed aspect of the environmental impact of a Wal-Mart Supercenter — traffic — could drastically alter the two neighborhoods.
Seeger has, under the state Freedom of Information Law, requested additional information used by Department of Transportation officials and others to gauge likely traffic flow changes near the site, should the store be built.
A letter from Seeger, addressed to city and planning commission officials states that accepting the final report constitutes grounds for a lawsuit, which various members of city governance feel is likely.
Residents can access a copy of the environmental report at the City Clerk’s Office, North Tonawanda Public Library, or online, at www.northtonawanda.org.
Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.
