Letter: People must shape community

I remember a different time, a different place, but the same Walmart company requesting a change in site plans. That place was James Island, near Charleston. Walmart wanted to increase an existing store’s size to include a food market and additional parking, and add a strip mall.

The people of the James Island community responded very vocally to the Town Council. Enough is enough. They did a good job of organizing and getting people to the right council and planning meetings, and getting support from the representatives from the area and state. They enlisted businesses that would be impacted and other groups that might have an interest ... from aesthetics to traffic safety.

It took time, effort, and commitment.

The surprising result was a denial of Walmart’s request ... shocking due to the fact that the people took on the giant and succeeded.

In this case, discovery of what is to be in the greatly expanded space is necessary. Is it more of what the community already has plenty of, or Walmart’s way of taking away from competition? They have planners who work years ahead of projects. Walmart knows what it is doing.

They get their feet in the door and then push it open more, similar to what happened on James Island.

But it is up to the people to decide what they want in their community.

Perhaps it is just that.

This story was originally published June 27, 2016 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Letter: People must shape community."