VICTORY FOR LOCAL DEMOCRACY THREATENED

Stratford won the OMB decision. Official Plan Amendment 10 is official. OMB forced Stratford to pay legal fees incurred protecting our Official Plan. Walmart is Again Disrespecting the spirit and intent of our Official Plan by taking advantage of zoning loophole and building in East area of Strtaford.

READ AND CONTRIBUTE TO 'If You Love Stratford' FOR INFORMATION, NEWS, VIEWS AND IDEAS

*PROTECTING OUR SPECIAL DOWN TOWN AND HEART OF OUR COMMUNITY*

*LOCAL ECONOMY VERSUS CORPORATE LOOTING*

*SHINING A LIGHT ON WHAT MAKES STRATFORD SPECIAL*

*CONTROLLING SPRAWL*

*QUALITY OF LIFE*


Monday, April 26, 2010

Yes to Petition - Store of the Community Ideas

Avonwood developers claim that Walmart hopes to create a Store of the Community and that in doing so, a building would be designed to reflect customers, neighbours and the community on the whole. If this were the case, what should this "Store of the Commu: It will be a small store (small by WalMart standards). Parking will be behind it, so that what adjoins the street is a friendly, human-size building, not a few acres of asphalt and cars. But it would be good to have a strip of open space and greenery between the building and the street. Even if the store is on the outskirts of town, town may in due course reach it and then a pedestrian-friendly place will be an asset. Moreover, a store like that would set a pattern for subsequent development to follow. (We\'re dreaming, right? In any case, if the townspeople have some say in how development takes place, this can be part of what we demand.)

If the store could be nearer to the centre of town than has been discussed, that would -- if it were the kind of place I an visualizing -- be a benefit and would avoid sprawl.

The store will sell a fair amount of Canadian-made merchandise, not only things made in China and such places, and it will showcase this Canadian merchandise.

Its manager will have Stratford\'s interests at heart at least as much as those of the corporation\'s head office.

But I still oppose the prospect of having a foreign-owned store, with its proceeds going across the border, becoming such a big player in a community which has comparatively few big retail and hotel chains doing business in it. Nothing that I can realistically visualize would be an asset to our community as it now is and as we hope to see it become.

submitted by M.B.

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