Petition protests Auburn Wal-Mart expansion

AUBURN – Opponents of the development of a new Wal-Mart store have gathered nearly 3,000 signatures on a petition calling for changes in the city’s development rules.

The discount retailer wants to build a 220,000-square-foot Supercenter that would take up about twice the space of its current store.

The petition asks the City Council to limit future retail stores to 100,000 square feet of ground coverage on a single floor. City officials have said such an ordinance would make Auburn seem inhospitable to business.

The organizers of the petition drive believe that if voters pass the referendum, Wal-Mart will be prohibited from moving forward with the expansion.

City officials disagree.

The city has 20 days to verify the signatures, according to city clerk Mary Lou Magno. The petition would then go to the City Council, which could enact an ordinance or put the issue before voters in a special election.

If a special election is held, it must take place at least 30 days after the signatures are validated but not more than six months after that, Magno said.

Sarah Strong, one of the organizers of the drive, said she fears that the public hasn’t had enough opportunity to comment.

“The initiative gives citizens a chance to vote, not only on the larger issue of big-box development in general, but on the suitability of the larger issue of big-box retailing in general,” Strong said in a release. “And on the suitability of the giant Supercenter project for the community in particular.”

But Auburn Ward 2 Councilor Richard Livingston said the public has had ample opportunity to be involved. Hearings were held before the City Council and the planning board.

“There were numerous opportunities for input,” Livingston said.