City Planners to Debate Wal-Mart Supercenter Plans

The gears of the Wal-Mart machine are grinding again in the City of Sturgeon Bay.

An artist’s rendering of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Engineers for Wal-Mart from McClure Engineering Associates of Milwaukee submitted preliminary plans in mid-July for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for a Wal-Mart Superstore.

By submitting a PUD application, Wal-Mart avoids the need to seek rezoning for the property, which would require a conditional use permit and Plan Commission approval. A PUD gets Plan Commission review, but only requires formal approval from the City Council.

Wal-Mart chose to submit its plans for a Superstore as a PUD because of the flexibility and consistency a PUD creates, according to city Community Development Director Marty Olejniczak.

“A PUD gives the city a little more scrutiny and allows us to put requirements on the developer that we normally wouldn’t see,” Olejniczak said. “We can tailor the zoning to Wal-Mart, and we can regulate what type of buildings are allowed on the property. A PUD puts the final decision in the hands of the city council.”

Proposed is a one story, 148,746 square foot Supercenter with 61,610 square feet of retail sales area and 22,420 square feet of new grocery area. The existing store is 67,357 square feet. The site and landscaping plans submitted by Wal-Mart include a storm water retention pond on the southeast corner of the lot, next to Egg Harbor Road and St. Joseph’s Cemetery. The new store plans for 675 parking spaces, 111 more than required by the city for a store this size and 205 more spaces than Target.

Wal-Mart plans to construct the Supercenter behind the current store so they can keep the old store open during construction. This will involve removing large amounts of rock and soil – to a depth of about 30 feet – under what is currently Georgenson’s cherry orchard, and has been orchard property for decades. The earth removed will likely be used to construct a berm along Peterson Road, behind Econo Foods. The amount of earth Wal-Mart will need to remove will be presented to the city in the next couple weeks.

Plan Commissioner Christie Weber said she was surprised at the façade plan Wal-Mart presented and was dismayed that the city was going to public hearing so soon, without having answers to a number of significant questions.

“There wasn’t one Commissioner who wanted the stock store design, and that’s what they presented,” Weber said. “Why not add onto the back of the building and open up the store? Why not use the top of the building for parking, if they’re going to blast into the rock and the top of the building will be level with the earth? Or why not rotate the building 90 degrees toward Peterson Road and eliminate the need for a huge berm?

“This city thinks it doesn’t deserve to have its needs met for the best looking buildings it can have,” Weber said, “and we do deserve to have Wal-Mart meet our needs.”

As part of the process of building a large retail establishment, Wal-Mart was required by the city to fund economic, financial and traffic impact studies. These studies were presented in March and optimistically revealed that the city of Sturgeon Bay and Door County could support a Wal-Mart Supercenter, as long as Wal-Mart can draw shoppers from the northern end of the peninsula and areas in and around Algoma. The most significant downfall presented in that study, was that either Econo Foods or Pick ‘N Save would likely be forced to close, and the possibility that other small area retailers, such as Bay Pharmacy in Cherry Point Mall, would lose customers to the Supercenter.

Plan Commission Chairman Dennis Statz, owner of the Dancing Bear and the White Lace Inn, said he is happy Wal-Mart is pursuing Supercenter construction at the current site and not adding to the city’s sprawl. Wal-Mart could set the tone for future development along Egg Harbor Road, Statz said, so it is important for the Plan Commission to consider the future while considering the Supercenter.

“I like a commercial/residential mix, it looks organized,” Statz said. “A mix is more energy efficient, green even, and builds a sense of community. There’s so much undeveloped commercial space in our community, I think we need to consider adding residential to that area in the future.”

Egg Harbor Road from 14th Avenue to the intersection of Georgia Street and 8th Avenue is littered with empty retail buildings, and the old Kmart building remains empty at the entrance to the business district.

Commissioners said they hope to have more questions answered by Wal-Mart about their Supercenter plans at the public hearing Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 7 pm in the Sturgeon Bay City Hall.

“This will be an open discussion,” Statz said. “I hope everyone who has a question submits it, or shows up to the meeting. Even though it’s Sturgeon Bay that’s dealing with (Wal-Mart) specifically, we are Door County. What happens in one part of Door County, affects the entire community. Like the bridge issue, a Super Wal-Mart is a county issue.”

Wal-Mart Impact Study Review Aug. 18

Craig Showalter, a consultant with Business Plans Etc., will address the Sturgeon Bay City Council at 7 pm, Tuesday, Aug. 18 to offer a review of the economic impact studies released in March. Showalter was hired by Door County Residents for Fair Enterprise to “make sure that all possible effects of a Wal-Mart Supercenter are considered by the council.”

Feedback Wanted

Door County residents can provide feedback on the Wal-Mart plans by contacting Sturgeon Bay City Aldermen or Plan Commissioners. Letters can be sent to 421 Michigan St., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235.

City of Sturgeon Bay Aldermen:

Tom Voegele, Mayor:  920.746.4048

Dan Wiegand, Plan Commission and District 1:  920.743.7145

Ron Vandertie, District 2:  920.743.3886

John Lodl, Plan Commission and District 3:  920.746.0197

James Abeyta, District 4:  920.746.6719

Steve Mann, District 5:  920.743.9337

Tom Benzshawel, District 6:  920.743.7086

Thad Birmingham, District 7:  920.746.9688