Hartford Citizens for Responsible Government

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Where Has All The Planning Gone?
Why Hartford Residents Are Upset About the Lack of Impact Studies, Hearings
Op-Ed by Brent O. Denzin, Attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow
Midwest Environmental Advocates

As Hartford inches closer to adding Wisconsin’s 90th Wal-Mart, Hartford residents, like those comprising Hartford Citizens for Responsible Government (HCRG), are still in the dark. With no traffic study for the downtown area, no environmental impact study that addresses the effects of paving over the banks of the Rubicon River, no economic impact study, and no conditional use permit hearing to openly discuss Wal-Mart’s plans, the City Council has gathered very little information regarding the proposed Supercenter.

Having worked with HCRG over the past eight months to address resident’s concerns about the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter on HWY 60, I understand their frustration. Spanning roughly 34 acres, the large, one-level Supercenter will bring 11,000 cars down neighboring streets to a parking lot the size of ten football fields outside a store that is roughly five times the size of the average supermarket. Needless to say, HCRG’s concern for the residential character of the City is well-founded. Most concerning, however, is the City’s refusal to listen to residents and study the impacts commonly associated with big-box developments— deteriorated downtown commercial districts, sprawling, unplanned commercial growth, traffic jams, polluted runoff, flooding problems, light pollution, strained city services, reliance on cars, and more.

Hartford residents need to be able to trust that the City Council and Plan Commission are doing their homework and denying rezoning petitions and construction proposals that will have negative impacts on the community. Despite what some Hartford Alderpeople have suggested, the City has the legal authority and responsibility to deny any annexation, rezoning petition, or zoning permit if the Council is concerned about the impact on the public’s safety and welfare. To adequately address these public health and welfare concerns, the City needs to at least take the time to look at the well-known impacts.

Instead, Hartford has sidestepped their obligation, requiring only the bare minimum from the world’s largest retailer. The Hartford City Council decided to annex land, rezone the farmland into a commercial district, and waive the conditional use permit hearings despite clear concerns regarding the outdated design, poor location, and unnecessary size. After more than two years since the Wal-Mart was proposed, the Council has yet to discuss basic, and vital, questions.

For example: Despite an estimated increase of over 5,000 cars per day (one every 7.5 seconds) at downtown intersections, including the dreaded HWY 60/83 intersection, the City has not studied traffic impacts beyond the immediate intersections surrounding the proposed site. Intersections that border the proposed Wal-Mart are being reconstructed to deal with unacceptable traffic. What can residents expect when the same cars go through the downtown intersections a half mile up the road?

Despite roughly 16 times more stormwater entering the Rubicon River from the new paved parking lot, the City has only asked that Wal-Mart meet state minimum standards for sediment removal. Despite Hartford Alderperson Lokken’s misguided suggestion that the new parking lot will decrease the environmental impacts, the environmental impacts of parking lot runoff are clear. Unlike farm fields, a typical parking lot runoff contains lead, e-coli, oil, grease, salt, and a long list of other metals. Unfortunately, the state stormwater standards only address sediment. These additional pollutants are not treated in wet detention ponds, nor are they addressed in Wal-Mart’s stormwater permit.

Additionally, once Hartford paves over the field, stormwater will no longer reach the groundwater stock, and instead heads to the river, contaminating water quality and raising the threat of flooding. Instead of heeding DNR recommendations to protect land near the Rubicon River, Hartford is proposing to put a parking lot on its banks. The City Council would know what effect this pollution will likely have on the river if it had required an Environmental Impact Study.

Despite high costs of servicing big-box developments and highly questionable economic impact, Hartford has not done a Cost of Community Services (COCS) study or a Community Impact Study. If the City cares about promoting economic growth it would take the time to figure out whether this type of development benefits the community in the long-run.

Hartford residents have not had a chance to discuss these issues because their representatives have not asked the necessary questions. City has ignored resident’s clear concerns and gone against trends across the state. In Monona, Wal-Mart is putting its parking lot underground, to fit into the existing commercial district. In Stoughton, the City Council is requiring Community Impacts Studies, Environmental Impact Studies and Traffic Impact Studies. In Sturgeon Bay, the City Council recently denied an annexation proposal for a Wal-Mart Supercenter because it wasn’t the right move for the City. In Monroe, the City Council asked the residents directly how they felt about big-box development. In Hartford, there has been silence.

Whether or not the City Council members participate in the discussion, Hartford residents should ask themselves the important questions: Why does the City need a Wal-Mart that is twice the size of Wal-Marts that served larger communities throughout the 1980s and 1990s? Why is the City still allowing sprawling parking lots when Wal-Mart has shown the ability to put the parking lot under the store? Why didn’t we even look at the environmental, economic, and traffic impacts of a Supercenter in this area?

Big-box sprawl does not just happen; it is created by City Councils failure to answer the important questions take time to evaluate the impacts of proposed developments. Regardless of a resident’s view on the Supercenter, they have a right to an informed decision. Residents should demand nothing less in Hartford.

Brent Denzin is an attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow with Midwest Environmental Advocates, Wisconsin’s first and only nonprofit environmental law center that provides technical assistance and legal representation to communities working for clean air, clean water, and clean government. He can be reached at bdenzin@midwestadvocates.org or (608) 251-5047 ext. 1.

To learn more, visit www.midwestadvocates.org.