Arguments for Walmart Posted in Clairmont Heights

The Clairmont Heights Civic Association posted on Sunday a series of anonymous statements from residents who support Walmart and Selig Enterprises in an effort to explain the association's backing of the in December.

A selection of statements from the post on the association's blog:

• Yes, Walmart underpays its employees and forces them onto state insurance programs like PeachCare, but that issue will not be solved by trying to stop one store from going in; that should be the focus of attention on our elected representatives to mandate coverage by any employer with X number of employees.
• Walmart is the largest retailer of organic foods in the country, bar none. And it should be noted the current generation of Wally Worlds are amongst the most environmentally conscious retail buildings in the country.  They finally realized that recycling and cutting their carbon footprint saves them money. BIG money.
• Yes, traffic is bad and is going to get worse. Any successful business in that mall will increase traffic. The traffic for a Trader Joe's would be every bit as bad if not worse than for a Walmart, but TJ's wouldn't be shelling out $10 Million to build underground parking.

Local neighborhood associations, the Medlock Area Neighborhood Association most severely, have taken heat from a growing group of residents protesting the forthcoming construction of a Walmart Supercenter in Suburban Plaza in North Decatur. The Medlock association supported the construction after it and Selig agreed to several non-binding requests regarding the redevelopment of the struggling shopping center.

A good number of surrounding neighborhood associations also backed Walmart and Selig at the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals variance hearing. The variance for a reduction in parking was approved. But some residents of those communities, , say their neighborhood associations didn't act in their best interests.