[arctichomesteader]

I don't have a problem with states buying property to have as public property for the benefit of the public. I don't like the federal government being involved though. I don't like zoning either.

[OhBeeHave]

"They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot

They took all the trees, and put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them
No, no, no, don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone
They paved paradise, and put up a parkin' lot"

When the areas surrounding battlefields are encroached by McDonalds, WalMarts, Taco Bell, Rite Aid, Target, etc., as well as the amount of traffic they draw, it changes the very essence of the historic site. Instead of being on the field and listening to the silence, closing one's eyes to envision the merciless slaughter that raged, you hear distant car horns, smells of fried foods, and find detritus of these corporate money mongers in places where young men's lifeblood spilled to the ground in support of their cause. Whopper wrappers were a young rebel died, Walmart bags where a confederate soldier camped and wrote a letter to a loved one, whom he would never see again. The sickening smell of dirty Dumpsters on a hot summer day wafting in the air once clouded by cannon fire and the scent gun powder.

This is National sacred ground for Americans of all races. Corporations should not be allowed to run roughshod over that which belongs to We The People. The proposal might not be ON the battlefield, but it is close enough to impact it permanently.

[Lilybeans]

Well said.

[mustmove]

We the people don't own all the private property in the country. If we follow the VT mantra of everyone having a stake in everything, then poverty and worse will be the result. There is a project in VT to register old barns, anyone want to guess what part two of that plan entails. I'm guessing I'll need a permit to tear my 1879 barn down before long, nevermind that I had to switch homeowners insurance because the first insurer insisted I tear it down. If you want to save a battleground from Walmart then buy it, using zoning is stealing.

[flu189]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

Not always. Some sites have national importance and really belong to all of us. What if they were going to tear down Mt. Vernon and build a McDonalds? How about bulldozing the Alamo to build a Home Depot? Dynamite Mt. Rushmore to mine gravel?

Come on. You know that there is a mechanism to identify and protect cultural and historic sites through means such as landmark status, historical preservation, or other protections from encroachment such as the corridor for example that contain the Appalachian Trail. The problem lies in that the criteria chosen does not always satisfy all parties and it never will. I can't say that sprawl and development will cease, but just from a pure economic and demographic perspective we have either reached saturation point nationally, or are at least very close to it, to how many McDonalds, Lowes, Home Depots, or whatever other chain stores you prefer, can be built and sustain themselves.

[flu189]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

I don't have a problem with states buying property to have as public property for the benefit of the public. I don't like the federal government being involved though. I don't like zoning either.

Our history is full of examples of this. Robert Moses being prime in the 20th century who engineered and built a modern highway, bridge, and tunnel infrastructure. His detractors always fail to note that he also created large and very popular tracts of public access recreation areas and municipal parks. Sometimes the federal govt does have to get involved in mass projects like the Interstate Highway program. Of course, here in Vermont, there are those who curse I91, I89, and wish they never were built. Despite their existence for four decades Vermont did not explode.

[FredsMom]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

"They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot

They took all the trees, and put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them
No, no, no, don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone
They paved paradise, and put up a parkin' lot"

When the areas surrounding battlefields are encroached by McDonalds, WalMarts, Taco Bell, Rite Aid, Target, etc., as well as the amount of traffic they draw, it changes the very essence of the historic site. Instead of being on the field and listening to the silence, closing one's eyes to envision the merciless slaughter that raged, you hear distant car horns, smells of fried foods, and find detritus of these corporate money mongers in places where young men's lifeblood spilled to the ground in support of their cause. Whopper wrappers were a young rebel died, Walmart bags where a confederate soldier camped and wrote a letter to a loved one, whom he would never see again. The sickening smell of dirty Dumpsters on a hot summer day wafting in the air once clouded by cannon fire and the scent gun powder.

This is National sacred ground for Americans of all races. Corporations should not be allowed to run roughshod over that which belongs to We The People. The proposal might not be ON the battlefield, but it is close enough to impact it permanently.

I just got a little choked up and teary eyed reading this. Well done!

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by mustmove

We the people don't own all the private property in the country. If we follow the VT mantra of everyone having a stake in everything, then poverty and worse will be the result. There is a project in VT to register old barns, anyone want to guess what part two of that plan entails. I'm guessing I'll need a permit to tear my 1879 barn down before long, nevermind that I had to switch homeowners insurance because the first insurer insisted I tear it down. If you want to save a battleground from Walmart then buy it, using zoning is stealing.

I try and look at things from your perspective, and while I understand your concern about what regulations impact you, I ask that you remove yourself from your personal property issue with the state and consider the fact that publicly held lands (yours, mine, theirs, All of the taxpayers) when not properly protected lose their essence when not properly protected.

Zoning does not equal stealing; eminent domain in the hands of avaricious politicians is.

It has been a very long time since I was at Arlington National Cemetery -- has the sanctity of this resting place been compromised by the placement of Burger King, Dennys, Waffle House to feed the masses?

Please, come visit LI. Where there has been a lack of zoning things are overbuilt, buildings of historic nature are either shoehorned in by McMansions or torn down to make way for strip malls. In fact, the old schoolhouse in Setauket was plowed down in order to build a strip mall. I can go to the bank and point out a little NYS Historic Marker commerating the significance of this location. Seeing as there is no grass left, no evidence of the school, it is impossible for children to have any idea of what children their age experienced 150 years ago.

Next I can drive a little further down Route 25A (touted the Washington Heritage trail) and point out the modern house which stands where the Roe Tavern once did. The Roe Tavern played a significant part in the Revolutionary war as a central point for the Culper Spy Ring. Roe Tavern has been moved to an out of the way location and is not accessible to the public. George Washington did stay there as part of his tour of LI.

There are many, far worse transgressions against this area's history, I don't want to go on and on.

There had been a rubber factory in the area which burned in a fire. There was factory housing which in the course of time has fallen to developers, to fire and vandals. The few remaining structures were set to be razed by the local fire district so they could have a bigger parking lot. Many of us have fought to save the buildings and to relocate them as they have played a significant part in the development of the community. We won, the fire district made some concessions to give us time and the community will retain a part of the past. Working together, we can bring about change while preserving our past.

My office is in an Historic District. Looking out my window, I could be sitting in 1890; some of the structures date back to the late 1600s, early 1700's. There is a pond which then kids clear to skate on, an old farmhouse on a hill, two homes belonging to early settlers. All have businesses operating within them and you would never know it.

Historic districts have transition zones which loosen up the regulations a little, but provides for a gradual transition from the historic structures to the moderen ones outside of the transition. This had benefitted all on many levels: preserving the past, creating an aesthetically pleasing environment, causing real estate values to rise as these homes and buildings are in high demand, and in this down economy, these homes are retaining value moreso than their modern counterparts.

This area is very desirable; historic preservation has helped play a significant part in that, as well as the proximity to a major public university. The university has siezed privately held property through eminent domain, but never within the Historic districts. I could throw a stone and hit the university, but you can not see, smell or hear the goings on of over 19,000 students from where I sit as I type this.

If a Walmart, McDonalds or some other corporately held box/chain entity were to have developed on the University land as opposed to the school, you can bet we would be negatively impacted.

I don't advocate turning every place into a Busch Gardens Colonial Vermontland, and I understand your dismay at having to register your barn. They are a rapidly disappearing part of our agrigarian past and some value must be assigned to them. Can you qualify for any preservation grants? Can you sell it off now to someone who dismantles them to resell or are you already tied down by the mandates?

It's not that I am anti corporation (I am not) it is that I am in favor of proper planning and placement within context of the setting. Walmart is notorious for being a bully and steamrolling local munincipalities when it comes to building sites. Their corporate policies (wages, benefits, abuse of employee's rights) leave much to be desired. Their bargaining tools cripple some businesses -- read about what they've done to some suppliers. The big shots are in Arkansas -- why should they give a hoot about anything which they can't see; to them, it's all about the bottomline.

[FredsMom]

An update in the Washington Post on Wal-Mart in the Wilderness from James McPherson:
washingtonpost.com

[impalacon]

The property that Wal-Mart wants to purchase and build a store on in the Wilderness (Virginia) IS NOT, and I repeat, IS NOT a part of any battlefield or military park! This property has been zone commerical for 30+ years. There are businesses already built in this area that are much closer to the battlefield than Wal-Mart would be. There is a 7-11, a WAWA, a Virginia liqour store, McDonalds, nail shops, a Subway, Wachovia Bank, a tobacco shop, a pharmacy, and a used car dealer plus other businesses that I can't recall at the moment. Wal-Mart would be a quarter mile from the highway and would not be visible from the battlefield. It also might be noted that NO PRESERVATION GROUPS HAVE EVER OFFERED TO BUY THIS PROPERTY. If this property was/is so important then why hasn't one of these preservationinst groups purchased this property a long time ago? If these groups want to control PRIVATE PROPERTY SHOULDN'T IT BE THEIR PRIVATE PROPERTY AND NOT SOMEONE ELSES?
The majority of citizens of Orange County, VA, WANT THE WAL-MART TO BE BUILT! We need the jobs and the tax revenue this store would generate. Orange County, VA will benefit all around if this store is built.