Home Depot Corporate

Hailey takes stand against box stores

Hailey takes stand against box stores

Airport development plan criticized

By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

When and if the airport in Hailey is relocated to the south, there will be 210 acres in Hailey ripe for development. The Hailey City Council is open to fresh ideas for building on the property, as long as those ideas do not include stores like Target and Home Depot.

"Box stores of any kind will kill the downtown," said Jane Drussell, the owner of Jane's Artifacts on Main Street in Hailey, during a City Council meeting Monday. "All the little towns that put them in have had their downtowns destroyed. If people want them, they should move to the city."

The Hailey City Council was reviewing a master plan for the redevelopment of the Friedman Memorial Airport site, but did not agree to sign a resolution supporting it until provisions allowing for large-format retail, or big box stores, were removed.

The council also left the door open to receiving new ideas for the property.

"A creative citizen could come in with a plan for the site and we would consider it," Councilman Fritz Haemmerle said.

"No question about it," added Councilman Don Keirn.

Community Development Director Beth Robrahn presented the master plan, which could establish long-term goals for the site, including a multi-use area that includes a 200-room hotel and conference center, a retail-residential "village" and a sprinkling of "research and development" centers.

The southernmost parcel in the site plan called for up to four large-format retail stores such as Home Depot and Target, totaling 160,000 square feet of commercial floor space.

Consultant Rick Hill with Village Solutions, a real estate development marketing firm in Anchorage, Ky., told the Idaho Mountain Express earlier this month that he was in talks with large-format retailers to see if they would be interested in building on the airport site. He declined to specify which businesses he was in contact with.

Councilwoman Martha Burke said consultants working on the master plan gave "misleading" information with regard to the effect of big box stores on local businesses. She said the consultants said Hailey only has "specialty stores" at present and could therefore benefit from the availability of larger stores.

"L.L. Green's is not a specialty store, it is a hardware store. Jane's is not a specialty store, it is an office supply store," Burke said.

Home Depot Makes Corporate Stand for Gay Marriage - Fairfax News

Home Depot Makes Corporate Stand for Gay Marriage

Home Depot Chairman Frank Blake made it clear to shareholders earlier this month that his company would continue to support gay marriage activists and activities. Since that time several high profile events supporting gay pride have seen corporate sanctioned Home Depot participants appear in parades and other public activities.

Last weekend, Home Depot sponsored the Southern Maine Pride event in Portland. During the opening ceremony, emcee Khris Francis thanked the company for their support of gay men. On June 11, over one dozen employees wearing Home Depot gear marched in the Boston Pride parade.

The home improvement company has drawn sharp criticism from groups who are opposed to gay marriage. The American Family Association (AFA) has organized a boycott of Home Depot to fight what it calls, “the company’s assault on the sanctity of marriage as only between one man and one woman.”

Earlier this month the AFA delivered 474,161 petition signatures to Home Depot chairman Frank Blake at the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Atlanta.

Home Depot public relations representatives were contacted for an official response to the organizations boycott efforts and responded via email saying, “The Home Depot is committed to respecting and recognizing the diversity of all people and fostering an inclusive environment for all.

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