What Lilliputians can do….
Over a year ago, Walmart tried to bully a rural community south of Monroe County to rezone in order to allow a Walmart Super Store to be built. The Town of Lima rallied together and showed what a small group of dedicated citizens could accomplish when they set their minds to it.
From an article, of January 10th, in MPN Now r/t Walgreens in Irondequoit.
Mitch Rowe, Irondequoit’s director of community development, said Monday that the town has received an application for a Walgreens “on behalf of a developer out of Syracuse,†who has an option to purchase land belonging to the Newcomer Funeral Home and two structures to the east, on Empire Boulevard.
(snip)
The Irondequoit Town Board has asked the Planning Board to have a first look at that request for rezoning at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, in the Broderick room at Town Hall, 1280 Titus Ave. The meeting is open to the public.
The Planning Board is being asked to make a recommendation to the Town Board on the request by attorney Jerry Goldman, acting as agent for McFarland Development, LLC, for about 1.3 acres of land at 6, 26, 34 and 40 Empire Boulevard. A small portion of the property is also located within the city of Rochester.
If the rezoning were to be approved and the application moves forward, it could be the third Walgreens in Irondequoit in less than four years.
The first Walgreen’s in Irondequoit is located at the corner of Culver and east Ridge Rd and the second is slated to be built at corner of East Ridge and Hudson Ave-both in heavily commercial areas. The third, proposed, was in a mainly residential area on Empire and Culver, a church and a school across the street with some houses. Mixed use, but nothing as big as the slated Walgreens there. Looks like they’re trying to keep that non-commercial look in that area.
Meanwhile, in Fairport………………….
(January 10, 2008) — FAIRPORT — Margaret Kerr, a resident since the 1970s, loves the village and regularly walks in her community. But if plans for a proposed Walgreens pharmacy are approved, she fears the charm of Fairport will be destroyed forever.
“To put in a big box just doesn’t seem to (make sense),” said Kerr, who lives three houses away from the proposed location. “We need development, but it needs to be in keeping with the character of the village.”
(snip)
Concern over a Walgreens coming to Fairport has brewed for more than a year. At one point, it was rumored that First Baptist, a church listed on the National Register of Historic Places, would be torn down to provide a location for the pharmacy.
From WROC News, 950 AM today:
NEIGHBORS TURNED OUT IN IRONDEQUOIT AND IN FAIRPORT TO PROTEST PLANS TO BUILD TWO NEW WALGREEN’S STORES. THE TOWN PLANNING BOARD IN IRONDEQUOIT VOTED TO NOT REZONE THE AREA AT EMPIRE AND CULVER WHERE DEVELOPERS WANT TO BUILD THE NEW DRUG STORE. IN FAIRPORT, THE CROWD WAS SO BIG THAT THE MEETING HAD TO BE RESCHEDULED
Just look at that-we CAN make a difference. I certainly can’t say it any better than Margaret Mead:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Given that the HFL school district ties the people of Lima together with those of us in Mendon and Honeoye Falls, it was VERY gratifying to see (and participate in) the community effort to keep Walmart out of Lima - for now, anyway. One of the leaders of the resistance was honored as the Mendon Rotary’s ‘Citizen of the Year” for his efforts, and Lima’s voters swept two co-conspirators out in last year’s Town Board election.
While some view the appearance of these big chain stores as “progress” I think they tend to forget or ignore that they suck the wealth out of the communities where they appear. I’m not as familiar with Walgreens, but Sam Walton’s heirs occupied 5 of the top 8 spots on Fortune’s list of the richest of the rich. Each of them is worth multiple billions of dollars…
Where, do you suppose, does that wealth come from?
[...] in the end, it takes the people or as Ladkiddo says the Lilliputanslittle people. When people band together they can accomplish great [...]
[...] to a followup meeting about Walgreens’ attempt to build in the village. They turned out, as before, in record numbers and succeeded in scuttling the attempt to build. The developer recently [...]