The following is an excerpt from a Guest Opinion that appeared in the Iowa City Press-Citizen

by Gary Sanders


On Tuesday, the Iowa City Council will hold a public hearing
on the rezoning of 54 acres of city-owned land north of the Iowa
City Airport. That
would allow 21.7 acres to be sold to Wal-Mart for the site of a new
supercenter.

Earlier this spring, the council voted 5-2 for a conditional
sale of this land to Wal-Mart for $3.1 million, but the land must be rezoned
from “intensive commercial” to “community commercial” for
the sale to be finalized. The Planning and Zoning Commission has voted for the
rezoning, adhering to the philosophy that only the “land use” should
be considered, not the “land user.” There is absolutely nothing in
the law that requires this narrow thinking.

But why should we bother trying to convince the council to
vote “no” on this rezoning? Obviously, Wal-Mart is a huge favorite of
shoppers all over the country, including Johnson
County. And, Wal-Mart provides
employment to many people who might be unemployed otherwise. So why are people
around the country fighting Wal-Mart? 

Because it is the major destroyer of small business
everywhere, including businesses in small towns in Eastern Iowa.
These are the small businesses whose local owners sponsor the little league
teams, serve on school boards and city councils and have formed the backbone of
small towns since this country's earliest days. 

Every dollar that we spend in a Wal-Mart anywhere is driving another
nail into the coffin of smaller businesses everywhere. Though Wal-Mart is the nation's biggest private employer and
has annual revenues of $288 billion and $10 billion in profits, it claims that
it cannot afford to increase its wages or health benefits. 

Fifty years ago, the nation's largest corporations were
unionized, industrial companies who raised the bar for workers' wages and
benefits, and helped lead America's
workers into the middle class. Today, Wal-Mart is helping to lower the bar for
workers, as other corporations cut costs to try to maintain their place in the
economy. 

Iowa City
already has a Wal-Mart. Coralville has a Super Wal-Mart. Do the majority of Iowa
City's residents support Wal-Mart's practices? I do
not believe so. 

On May 17 we can, and must, make our voices heard by the
City Council. If the council wants to approve the rezoning to allow corporate
outlaw No. 1 to build its supercenter, let it not be in our name.

Reach Gary Sanders, chairman of Iowa City Stop Wal-Mart and
an Iowa City resident since 1978,
at 319-377-7739.

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