Big-box retailer Walmart and the Town of Wawarsing Planning Board are the targets of a lawsuit filed in Ulster County Supreme Court by Shop-Rite and Wawarsing-Ellenville for Responsible Development (WERD). Shop-Rite, a supermarket chain with a local store in Wawarsing on Route 209, is represented in this case by Moss Calhelha of Cornwall's Calhelha & Doyle, LLC, and the suit calls for an order "vacating and nullifying the negative declaration of environmental significance" approved by the planning board back in March. The negative declaration stipulated that Walmart's application to build a new store at the site of the Napanoch Valley Mall on Route 209 was complete, and satisfied the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA.

The suit, the notice of which was received by the Wawarsing Building Department on April 28, alleges that the Wawarsing Planning Board "failed to conduct an adequate review of the potential adverse environmental impacts which might occur as a result of the Walmart project," as required under SEQRA, and that the planning board "failed to give adequate consideration to the modifications required by the Ulster County Planning Board," as required under general municipal law.

The suit also makes further allegations. It alleges that representatives from Walmart met privately with planning board attorney Marylou Christiana and engineering consultants from Lanc and Tully (though neither Christiana nor Lanc and Tully are referenced by name in the suit, they are the planning board's attorney and engineering consultants, respectively), and that Walmart's representatives set forth a plan to evade a full environmental review of the proposed project. Other allegations made by the suit say that the planning board did not issue their negative declaration within the 20 days of declaring themselves lead agency on the project, which the suit cites as a requirement of SEQRA law.

However, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) website titled, "Stepping Through the SEQR Process," the lead agency — in this case the Wawarsing Planning Board — must "make its determination [regarding positive or negative declaration] within 20 days of receipt of all the information it reasonably needs." In considering its determination, the lead agency must consider "the EAF [Environmental Assessment Form] and any other information provided by the applicant; involved agency input, where applicable; and public input, if any."

The suit further alleges that the Wawarsing Planning Board did not heed or fully consider the recommendations of the Ulster County Planning Board. The county planning board, among other recommendations, had suggested that the town's planning board hold the Walmart project to the requirements of the recently passed revised zoning code — a requirement the Wawarsing Town Council had waived when they grandfathered in all pending planning board applications under the previous zoning code.

"The community has chosen for no apparent reason to exempt what is likely to be the largest construction project in this decade from meeting most of the requirements contained in" the new zoning code, the Ulster County Planning Board had written in their March report, from which the suit quotes extensively.

The co-petitioners of the suit include WERD, "an association of residents and business owners in the Town of Wawarsing and Village of Ellenville," and Ellenville-resident and WERD spokesperson, Steve Krulick. Because of their claimed interest in maintaining the environmental and economic character of the community, the WERD-affiliated business owners and residents (including Krulick, the only resident who is a co-petitioner outside of the WERD banner) claim standing in the suit, alleging that their community will be adversely impacted by Walmart's proposed store, and that they and their economic or community interests would, in turn, would be negatively impacted as well.

Also named as respondents in the suit are Cecilia Tso Warner and Joseph Tso, who own and operate Napanoch Valley Mall, LLC (also named in the suit), and who would be selling the Napanoch Valley Mall property to Walmart for their proposed store.

The petition will be heard in Ulster County Supreme Court in Kingston on June 8 at 9:30 a.m.

Attempts to interview Jacob R. Billig and Marylou Christiana, legal counsel for Walmart and the Wawarsing Planning Board, respectively, were unsuccessful as of press time.

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