We see the development of box stores everywhere we look. This is not a new trend. It is, however, a rapidly expanding one. Big box stores swallow once open spaces in one gulp. When one box store is allowed to enter a town, a dozen follow, and rampant development is sure to occur. This leaves us to wonder, are these box stores really good for a town’s economy, when in the long run the development might be too much for the community to bear?
Last February Lowe’s Home Improvement developers went before the Plymouth Planning Board to propose a 138,000 square foot shopping center. The proposed center would be built on one of Plymouth’s last remaining corn fields on the intersection of Highland street and Tenney Mountain Highway. Lowe’s developers may have underestimated the complexity of the site.
The proposed seventy-seven acres of land is located on not only the flood plain, but the actual flood path of the Baker River. If the land is not properly mitigated it could cause problems down the line, and especially during a flood season, like the one we just saw. Building in this area could cause the actual re-routing of the river. If it is not properly rerouted there would be severe flooding down the river by the Common Man Inn, and even further still at the Plymouth and Holderness line.
This could mean more red tape for developers before actual building can get underway. According to Whitman, developers would have to redraw the river maps and have them approved at the federal level before any plans can be approved at the local level. This could severely slow down development in the area and lead into a race. Recently land was purchased next to Wal-Mart by a developer known for building Home Depots.
The site next to Wal-Mart is comparable to the site Lowe’s has acquired, except its environmental impact will be much less. According to Professional Planner and PSU professor, Steve Whitman, the reason Lowe’s was unable to acquire the site was because they were unable to come to an agreement with the landowner. The site off of Highland Street was a last resort with many developmental challenges.
In the preliminary concept meeting with the Plymouth Planning Board, Lowe’s developers have also proposed sites for other development. They proposed seven small stores, which may include gas stations, banks, and restaurants, as well as a community baseball field. According to Whitman, Lowe’s can promise the community anything during the preliminary stages.
This does not change the fact that the site chosen by Lowe’s developers is a natural resource gold mine. The site includes view of Stinson Mountain. With a 138,000 square foot building, several smaller buildings, and a parking lot, the visual impact will be immense. The site is currently home to one of Plymouth’s last remaining corn fields, although the corn is used as feed for local farms. The site is also home for ducks, and when the season comes, duck hunters.
Plymouth, New Hampshire is not the only town facing rapid development. The fact is the sprouting of box stores is happening across New Hampshire and New England. Merrimack, New Hampshire is embroiled in a legal battle over the development of a regional outlet mall. According to Dan McLean of the Union Leader, zoning would have to be changed from allowing only industrial uses in the area to one that allows retail sales.
According to New Hampshire Public Interest Research Group (NHPIRG) The Granite State is the fastest growing state in New England. “An explosion of uncontrolled development is swallowing up open space, forest, and farmland, destroying our landscape and our heritage.” NHPIRG estimates that by the year 2020 180,000 people are expected to move to New Hampshire, and these problems will only worsen.
Though the proposed mall in Merrimack is not considered a box store, it is a clear example of how communities are the ones that must adapt to incoming retailers.
Vermont hopes to change all that in their communities. Lawmakers in Montpelier Vermont are troubled by the rampant spread of chain box stores. They have recently introduced legislation to force communities to plan ahead for their arrival. In a recent news report, Senator Vincent Illuzzi stated, “Communities may be capable [to hold box stores] but as we have seen across America and around Vermont they are not ready.”
The legislation would try to limit the size of retail stores that come into the communities. The bill establishes a 50,000 square foot cap, but would allow communities to decide how large a store can be if over the 50,000 foot cap.
“I am simply concerned that when a store comes into a community it should come in and adapt to the community, rather than a store so large when it comes in the community has to adapt to it,” stated Mayor Peter DesLayriers of St. Albans City.
Bennington, Vermont is fighting their own battle against box stores. The community voted in April to uphold a bylaw that states that retailers can not be any larger than 75,000 square feet, and anything over 30,000 square feet must do a community impact study before developers can build. Community Activists hope it is steps like these that will protect Vermont from rampant, oversized development.
According to NHPIRG the most important thing a community can do is protect its downtowns. “Vibrant downtowns are the very opposite of sprawl. To protect our natural resources and the character of what makes New Hampshire special, communities simply must have new tools to make their village and town centers places where more people want to live and work,” stated Tom Irwin of the Conservation Law Foundation.
NHPIRG and the Conservation Law Foundation teamed up in 2002 to advocate legislation that would put local towns in control of development. House Bill 657 would give local decision-makers the tools they need to control development and help local communities raise money to keep their downtowns strong. “The legislation aims to help New Hampshire towns reap a triple benefit: strengthen local economies, lead to a cleaner, healthier environment, and reinvigorate the downtowns that have been the focus of New Hampshire life for more than two centuries.”
In Plymouth, there are many who believe that the coming of Lowe’s is a sure-fire increase in tax revenues. Plymouth residents face the high cost of property taxes because most of the land is untaxable. The land is owned by special interest groups such as the fire department, and largely by Plymouth State University. The need for a tax break is strong and many residents hope that more commercial retailers will ease the burden, “We must encourage new commercial businesses in Plymouth to help with property tax relief,” wrote Plymouth resident John H. Kelly, in a March 2005 letter to the editor for The Record Enterprise.
According to NHPIRG, if development is poorly-planned it could mean more economic hardships for towns and taxpayers. “Towns spend more to run water and sewage lines, to maintain roads, to hire more police and firefighters, and to absorb the other consequences of growth.”
Economic growth is inevitable, but in a town as pristine and filled with natural beauty as Plymouth, are there not ways to limit the power and reach of corporate America? Vermont seems to think so. Perhaps if towns were able to put aside the fact that economic growth may relieve some tax burdens, and special interests understood that it is impossible to stop progress, we could take a look at our town and come to an agreement on what it should stand for.
We should protect what is important, and isn’t the integrity of Plymouth as important as economic growth. Perhaps there is a way to balance the two. Perhaps Lowe’s, Wal-Mart and other box stores should have to re-write their three-inch thick books of rules and regulations to fit in with the towns they are occupying.