Deja vu all over again

(July 15) - They have no one to blame but themselves. Last week, the Wal-Mart development team came to Guelph city council and shot themselves in the foot. I was there to speak against the application, and I saw it happen. They wanted approval to expand their store by 65,000 square feet, and to add other retail stores across the road from Woodlawn Cemetery. Then they talked themselves right out of it.

Before cheering too loudly - or grieving too sorrowfully, depending on whose side you're on - word came out last Friday that the self-inflicted wounds were not fatal. Staff will get back into negotiations with the developer and council will have another look at it in the middle of September. We should still take a look at what happened last week.

The developers got on Vicki Beard's wrong side when they refused to harvest rainwater to irrigate the plants. They got under Mike Salisbury's skin when they fudged and fuddled over a second floor on buildings near the streets. Several councillors, including Ian Findlay and Leanne Piper, wanted reassurance that new buildings would meet environmental efficiency and design standards. They couldn't get it. The Wal-Mart Wallies wouldn't even consider a green roof.

This raised the question about holding the Wal-Mart developers to a higher standard than others. If council didn't ask the Great Canadian Superstore to meet higher environmental standards in the south end, should they ask Wal-Mart to meet them in the north?

The short answer is yes, they should. To do otherwise would be extremely unfair to future generations. If we missed an opportunity in the past, we have not given it up for ever and always. Just because we failed to score a goal early does not mean we concede the game.

What happened yesterday shouldn't become the fixed benchmark for all our tomorrows. All developers should be required to build to the highest standards in effect when the shovels hit the dirt. Council's demands should keep pace with changing and improving building technologies.

The legendary Wal-Mart arrogance was in full summer bloom last week. During the epic 10-year-long Ontario Municipal Board battle that preceded their arrival in Guelph, they consistently denied they had plans to anchor a super centre.

Yet the paint was barely dry on their sign before they announced plans to expand. For several months they have had signs on their property announcing new stores that were "coming soon." They take it for granted that their sheer size will roll over anyone who gets in their way.

We should be proud to have city councillors who do not automatically ask how high whenever Sam Walton tells them to jump.

There was one other very important difference between last week's meeting and one at the Italian Canadian Club four or five years ago. The large room at the ICC was packed, with dozens of delegates speaking out against putting Wal-Mart into that location.

At the end of the meeting, only three councillors gave any explanation at all for why they would vote the way they did. Those were Cathy Downer, Lise Burcher and Maggie Laidlaw. The other 10 mutely raised their hands in abject obeisance to the development dollars.

Last week, all 13 people around the horseshoe spoke out with reasoned rationales either in favour or against. That alone shows an enormous growth in the maturity of the women and men who govern our city.

It is not over yet, and now is not the time for silence. I am convinced that if there had been a vote, the majority of people in Guelph did not want a Wal-Mart between Woodlawn Cemetery and the Ignatius Centre. They might not have cared if the store came to Guelph, but not there.

If you think the power centre should not grow bigger on that corner, put up your hand now. Write letters to the editor. Send e-mails to city council. Do something to join the debate and frame the way our city will grow.

Let there be no misunderstanding, though. If city council says no to the developers again in September, the argument will go back to the OMB. A similar Wal-Mart fight is brewing in Toronto. The outcome there might help settle the matter here. We have two months to decide if we want to get back into the trenches.