See our new blog for timely updates and the latest news:
Hadley Neighbors blog
Wal-Mart Drops
Hadley Supercenter Plan
Wal-Mart has dropped its plans to build a supercenter in Hadley,
Massachusetts. The company's decision ends three years of efforts to build a
212,000-square foot store at the Hampshire Mall. Click here (PDF file) for the full
story.
April 6 Deadline for MEPA Comments on Supercenter
Residents have until April 6 to weigh in on the proposed Wal-Mart
Supercenter with state environmental regulators. Comments must be sent by
letter, fax or email to:
Mr. Ian Bowles, Secretary of Environmental Affairs
Attn: Nicholas Zavolas, EOEA No. 13478
MEPA Office
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston MA 02114
E-mail: nicholas.zavolas@state.ma.us
Fax: (617) 626-1181
If you would like a copy of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR),
the developer is required to send you one free of charge. Call 413-452-0445
to order yours today!
Hadley Neighbors has reviewed the DEIR and found many concerns. Here are
just a few that you may wish to raise in your comment letter:
Traffic: Site vehicle trip generation estimates are 7,424 on weekdays, which
is up more than 13% from the 6,542 weekday trips presented in the April 2005
Environmental Notification Form. This increase seems to contradict the
proponent's statement to the Hadley Planning Board on March 6 that traffic
impacts are "basically the same" as those in the ENF. Why is there a 13%
increase? On Saturdays, the Supercenter is estimated to generate 9,434 new
trips. When added to the 12,858 new Saturday trips to the Home Depot
project and the 8,676 new Saturday trips from the Lowe's project, Hadley is
looking at a cumulative increase Saturday traffic increase of 30,968 vehicle
trips. Remember--existing total Saturday trips on Route 9 are about 28,000
cars and trucks.
Wetlands: Two of the three alternatives presented require filling the
12,000-square foot triangular wetlands basin, which the Hadley Conservation
Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection Western Region
Office have ruled must be protected. Therefore, the only plan that can be
considered is the "Preferred DEIR Alternative." The others don't comply with
environmental regulations.
Air Quality: The DEIR reports that the increases to principal ozone
precursors, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), will
be 5.6% and 5.7% respectively over no-build conditions. The impact report
for the Home Depot project reports that VOC and NOx increases from that
project will be 14% for each pollutant. And the report for the Lowe's of
Hadley project shows that VOC emissions will rise 6% and NOx emissions will
rise 3.5%. Therefore, the cumulative VOC and NOx increases from these three
projects would appear to be 25.6% for VOCs and 23.2% for NOx.
Stay tuned for more information, and check our new blog for frequent
updates.
1 1/2 years later... Wal-Mart to resume hearing
Wal-Mart's development team will return to the Hadley Planning Board on
Tuesday March 6 at 7:30 PM at Hopkins Academy High School to explain their
latest plans for the Supercenter that they hope to build on wetlands and
farmland behind the Hampshire Mall. Also, project representatives have
announced that a Draft Environmental Impact Report will be filed "soon."
Check our blog for analysis and how to comment.
Lowes "Does Not Comply" with state environmental regulations
Last fall, the Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs ruled that
Lowes' Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) "does not adequately and
properly comply" with the state's environmental regulations. The problem?
"Primarily wetlands," according to the Secretary's Certificate... sounds an
awful lot like the problems at the Wal-Mart Supercenter just up the road...
and why not? The consultant team of Berkshire Design + New England
Environmental + Fuss & O'Neill is doing both projects.
Home Depot Swamped
The discovery last March of large areas of unreported wetlands at the site
of the proposed Home Depot "Hadley Corner" mall at Route 9 and North Maple
Street has apparently brought that project to a halt. The Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
inspected the site and found large areas of wetlands that were not shown on
the plans presented to--and approved by--the Hadley Planning Board and
Conservation Commission. It is unclear how these wetlands will change the
site plans for the Home Depot and up to eight other stores, including a
Kohl's, or if any of the planned stores can actually be built. What is clear
is that nothing has happened on the site since the wetlands were discovered.
"Big Problem" for Lowe's; MEPA Comments Due Oct. 11
The developer of the Lowe's Store across from the Hadley Garden Center has
produced their Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for review.
MassHighway recently raised new safety concerns about the widening of Route
9 in front of the store to five lanes, while the rest of road remains two
lanes wide. MassHighway wrote to the Planning Board on Sept 5 saying a safe
roadway design requires widening the entire road (from at least Mill Valley
Road to North Maple Street) to four lanes. This would require, among other
things, the lengthening of the Rail Trail bike path tunnel to accommodate
the increased road width. Even the developer's representative told the
Planning Board on Sept 5 that MassHighway's new requirement is a "big
problem."
last updated March 10, 2008, 9:43 p.m.
|
