tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5808701.post3480528405420092931..comments2020-11-24T02:42:00.066-07:00Comments on Wasatch County: Fear of Big Box - NOT ! ! !JQWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118117836688179373noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5808701.post-57671792902633980222007-02-22T15:25:00.000-07:002007-02-22T15:25:00.000-07:00I'm happy to see you agree that "the Boyer plan is...I'm happy to see you agree that "the Boyer plan is ridiculous and should be opposed."<BR/><BR/>I agree that the poll was schizophrenic, there are other sources expressing the will of the community (e.g. the Heber City and County General Plans and the hearings on the issue in 2005.<BR/><BR/>The inevitability of a Heber Valley WalMart is neither wrong - or a foregone conclusion.<BR/><BR/>You say "one-stoplight podunk town", I submit world class, rural small town.JQWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17118117836688179373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5808701.post-83322184211395043892007-02-15T14:28:00.000-07:002007-02-15T14:28:00.000-07:00You wrote:"The survey of Heber, and other Wasatch ...You wrote:<BR/><BR/>"The survey of Heber, and other Wasatch County, residents clearly indicated they did not want (or need) a Big Box. More retail - yes! Big Box - NO!"<BR/><BR/>That's one interpretation. And it's an incorrect interpretation.<BR/><BR/>In truth, this was a pretty schizophrenic study.<BR/><BR/>While it is true that most survey respondents said that there "should be a cap on" the size of retail stores, the question did NOT specify what that size would be.<BR/><BR/>While anti-Wal-Mart zealots love to tout this Dan Jones survey as incontrovertible PROOF that Heber Valley residents do NOT want a so-called "big box" store, the truth is not so black and white.<BR/><BR/>There were SOME negative responses about the impact of a Wal-Mart in town, but it is not one-sided opposition.<BR/><BR/>Anti-Wal-Martists conveniently ignore many of the answers that county residents gave in the survey:<BR/><BR/>Question 87: 52% support a large-scale, "big box" store in Heber City. That's a slim majority, but it IS a majority. The majority of respondents WANT a big box. You are telling lies when you say that the community does not want a big box--only 44% said they do not want one.<BR/><BR/>Heber City residents are even MORE in favor of having a big box here. 59% said they would be supportive of a big box in town.<BR/><BR/>65% of survey respondents said that having a big box store in town "will positively impact employment opportunities."<BR/><BR/>68% agreed that a big box "will increase tax revenues."<BR/><BR/>49% believe that large retail stores "encourage competition."<BR/><BR/>73% OF COUNTY RESIDENTS SAID THEY WOULD SHOP AT WAL-MART IF ONE WERE BUILT IN HEBER CITY. 77% of Heber residents will shop there.<BR/><BR/>Look, this Boyer plan is ridiculous and should be opposed. We don't want that highly-packed, ultra dense housing on the site. We definitely don't need a shopping center adding to the congestion of that intersection, especially once the high school is built nearby.<BR/><BR/>But a Wal-Mart IS going to be here, sooner or later. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as it's built further out from the center of town. <BR/><BR/>Whether you like it or not, the valley is growing, and residents will demand a large retail store close by. I'd almost prefer Charleston build one, so Heber can miss out on the tax revenues. You need to get used to the idea that Heber is not a one-stoplight podunk town anymore.PJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09103698187209864151noreply@blogger.com