Another Bangor superstore?

On July 15, alert readers drinking their morning coffee may have noticed a small public notice on page H-2 of the Bangor Daily News, from the Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust. It announced Wal-Mart’s plan to construct a superstore in Bangor, by Kittredge Road and Stillwater Avenue, as well as a public information meeting on July 26.

In addition, it said, Wal-Mart would turn in their application and superstore proposal to the Maine State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) around July 28 – in just two short weeks. This notice, also delivered to Bangor Code Enforcement the previous afternoon, was the first public information concerning this new superstore proposal.

Hmmm, you may say – this raises some questions. For example, how many additional cars will be funneled onto an already undrivable Stillwater Avenue? Next, how close is this to the Penjajawoc Marsh? How might it impact on area small businesses and downtown?

While it is not as close to the marsh as the previous (Widewaters) proposed Wal-Mart (turned down by the Bangor Planning Board in 2001, and by the Maine Board of Environmental Protection in 2003), one of the access roads may run alongside the Penjajawoc Stream by Blue Seal Feeds.

And there may not be any “conditional use” issues, unless one is discovered after close legal scrutiny. Why is this important? Because without a “conditional use” or a zoning change, the city of Bangor’s Planning Board is not required to hold a public hearing, even on a massive development with major implications for a community.

There are many further questions people may want to ask, such as:

. Why the rush? Whether intended or not, the two-week time frame between the first public notice, and submitting the application to the DEP, results in reducing the degree of public input and scrutiny.

. The city’s Penjajawoc Marsh-Bangor Mall Management Commission has not yet been consulted regarding these plans, despite a clear agreement that information on such developments should be shared very early in the process with the diverse stakeholder groups on the community-based commission. Why the secrecy?

See above. It is unfortunate that Wal-Mart has thus far bypassed the commission process, especially given how much time and money has been invested in it.

. Isn’t the Penjajawoc Stream still an “impaired stream”?

Yes. And the implications of the new state stormwater standards for such developments, especially in an impaired watershed, are not yet clear.

. Can the Planning Board consider wider or longer-term issues, such as the need for another Wal-Mart superstore when one already exists 5.5 miles across the Penobscot River? What about economic costs to local businesses, repeated labor law violations, driving down wages, or public costs such as health care for Wal-Mart workers?

The Planning Board cannot consider these issues if they are not mentioned in city or state codes. (They aren’t.)

. Is it rational to build another superstore based on worldwide production and distribution of consumer goods, at a time when the global decline of petroleum is on the horizon, with the likely result that the lifespan of this superstore may be only a few years? This issue is not in city or state codes.

. What about the likely need for open space in Bangor for localized food production in another 10 or 20 years, after peak oil and climate change have drastically limited long-distance transport of foods from Chile or Holland or Mexico?

Not yet in the city or state codes. (However, people owning land suitable for food production will be fortunate indeed, since this will probably become the primary basis for land value within a decade or two.)

. Wouldn’t it make more sense to encourage development by local businesses with roots in this area, which are committed to Bangor’s long-term well-being, and whose sales revenues flow back into the local community? A: Good question – see Michael Shuman’s book, “Going Local,” or Stacy Mitchell’s “10 Reasons Why Maine’s Homegrown Economy Matters.”

. Isn’t there some way that these wider questions can be brought into our community’s discussion, thinking and shared decision-making on such proposals?

Only an informed, vocal public of concerned individuals and groups can provide the answers to this.

If you are one of the people interested in these and other questions, you can have a voice. First, you can write or call (945-4400) the city of Bangor’s Planning Department and the Maine DEP.

Second, you can attend the public information meeting 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 26, at the Stillwater Avenue site across from VIP Discount Auto Center, and ask questions. (For more information on the location, call the Bangor Planning Department.)

Third, you can go to Bangor City Hall and-or to the Maine DEP office in Bangor (on Hogan Road) to view the application after it is submitted. You can attend Planning Board meetings and public hearings, to listen and-or to speak.

Finally, perhaps now is the time to start building a larger, diverse network of individuals and groups to think creatively about the longer-term future of Bangor’s development, local economy, open space and community.

Fortunately there are models for bringing grass-roots groups and individuals together to explore such issues (for example, “1,000 Friends of Wisconsin” or “1,000 Friends of Iowa” on the Internet).

BACORD (Bangor Area Citizens Organized for Responsible Development) is committed not only to responsible development but also to the negotiated, compromise process of the Marsh-Mall Commission, with other community stakeholders. PICA (Peace through Interamerican Community Action) is a Bangor grass-roots group working on economic justice and community building.

For more information, send an e-mail to marsh.hawk@yahoo.com or info@pica.ws or call Libby or Karl Norton at 947-7248.

Valerie J. Carter of Bangor is on the steering committee of BACORD. Katherine Kates of Bangor is a volunteer with PICA.