As a follow up to last week's post about the Orange County Planning Commission voting on whether to allow Walmart to build near a Civil War battlefield, we have learned that the Planning Commission has approved Walmart's initial plans. The Commission voted five to four to recommend Walmart's plans to the county supervisors, who will hold a public hearing and decide if Walmart will be allowed to build sometime this week.
Of course we think it's a shame that Walmart might be allowed to build a stone's throw away from the protected Civil War battlefield. Not only was the store's location a staging area for Union Troops, but the store will also bring increased traffic to the area, degrading the integrity of the protected battlefield. We hope the county supervisors, who are not held to the Planning Commission's recommendation, take the importance and historical significance of the Wilderness Civil War battlefield in to account and suggest an alternate location for Walmart to build.
Here is some of the coverage of the County Planning Commission vote:
Wal-Mart near Virginia battlefield moves forward [Business Week]
Wal-Mart near Va. battlefield moves forward [Forbes]
Wal-Mart proposal moves to Orange supervisors [Fredericksburg.com]
Posted by Taylor - June 29, 2009 03:56 PM - In The News