Consider impuacts before deciding
Editor,
Wal-Mart has now formally applied for a change in zoning and annexation into the City of Polson for the proposed mammoth Super Center store next to the existing Wal-Mart on Highway 93 south of Polson. Please fully consider all of the impacts this development will have on the community of Polson before making your decision.
The clear language and intent of your city plan recommends rejection of this application.
Polson is unique; truly blessed by its location. The south shore of Flathead Lake near the magnificent Mission Mountains is one of the most unique and beautiful places on earth. This location coupled with Polson's small town charm makes this community among the most attractive places in America. As a result, Polson is a magnet for successful people seeking a great place to live; preserving and enhancing this blessing is critical to Polson's future.
All too often, I take Flathead Lake and the Missi-on Valley for granted. It is when I leave and visit the dreariness of suburbia that I truly appreciate Lake County. American suburbs are monotonous communities dominated by identically ugly big box chain stores, endless commercial strips and indistinguishable shopping malls. Polson is still among the most attractive of rural small towns in our nation; this is a characteristic that has been lost in the plastic corporate tedium of suburban America.
Western Montana's accelerating growth is suburbanizing our larger neighboring communities; Reserve in Missoula, 19th in Bozeman, 93 through Kalispell all now resemble the commercial monotony of a rapidly growing suburb.
A Wal-Mart Super Center here will accelerate the suburbanization process that is still in its infancy in Polson.
The irony is inescapable. Polson's greatest asset (its rural small town lakeside charm) is starting to be eroded by the way Polson is growing.
This is precisely why the Polson City/County Plan speaks to limiting commercial sprawl along Highway 93 among other measures intended to preserve Polson's unique character. This proposed development will dramatically accelerate the commercial strip sprawl that your plan explicitly warns against.
The choices you make for Polson regarding your inevitable growth will determine whether Polson's greatest asset, your location at the outlet of Flathead Lake coupled with your small town charm, is preserved and enhanced.
An oversized Wal-Mart Super Center will:
1) erode this aspect of Polson's character;
2) injure Polson's locally owned small business economy thus eliminating many jobs;
3) fail to fully replace these jobs and depress wages; and
4) pave the way for similar additional unplanned and unwise big box retail development. Any one of these outcomes is enough to reject this application; the combination is an overwhelming reason to reject this application.
The public debate over this issue to date has been healthy, and should not be over. This is a pivotal moment in the evolution of Polson and Lake County. I hope and pray your choice will be a wise one that enhances the esthetic and economic future of the residents of Polson and Lake County. Thank you for your consideration.
Jay Wilson Preston
Charlo