Planning board to meet on Wal-Mart
Meeting to be held in Civil Defense building
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH - Anticipating a heavy visitor turnout, the Bath town Planning Board will hold its July 3 meeting at the Steuben County Civil Defense Building on state Route 54. The meeting, which will address a proposed Wal-Mart superstore development in the town, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Planning Board members will continue the early steps of an environmental impact study of a possible 150,000 square-foot Wal-Mart on Route 54. According to town Supervisor Fred Muller, town officials decided to move the meeting from the Liberty Street municipal building to the larger space because they expect numerous observers.

The Wal-Mart project has drawn heavy criticism from the local ad hoc organization Bath NY Group, which has asked the town board to impose a yearlong moratorium on large "box store" developments. In a letter to the Courier editor, Hammondsport resident Michele Fahmy said the group has invited 250 "concerned residents" to the Planning Board meeting (See page 4).

Muller noted the board last month mailed letters to state and local agencies advising them of its intention to serve as lead agent for the statemandated environmental impact study. Planning Board members are expected to review the agencies' responses to that announcement when they meet Tuesday.

According to Muller, the Planning Board's next major step in the environmental review process is the issuance of a "positive" or "negative" declaration regarding the Wal- Mart project. A positive declaration would mean the board has determined the development would have a significant impact on the environment and therefore requires a full-blown environmental impact review.

Muller has said he expects that review to last at least a year.

The Planning Board's upcoming meeting is legally classified as a public meeting; Planning Board Chairman James Emo, however, has distinguished between a public meeting and what he called last month a "public forum," indicating he is prepared to limit public comment during Planning Board meetings.