I have yet to see this so called problems that come along with businesses being built. I remember when they were building the Supercenters on Danforth and I-35. Everybody acted like it was going to be the end of the world. The stores opened and operated just like any other store in country. No crime, No heavy traffic other than those who already live in the area.

I think the key to new development is requiring businesses to adhere to the same standards home owners have to live by. The parking lot should always be kept clean. There should be a reasonable amount of landscaping and it should be properly maintained.

The way I see it if you want to live in a peaceful country setting you should move to a rural area. You shouldn't move to a suburb and expect it to be a peaceful utopia until the day you sell your house or die. Development should be viewed as something that will happen at some point.

If Walmart or any other retailer comes to town, hold them to high standards and hold the city's feet to fire to make sure those standards are enforced. We have to stop this kindergarten garbage of "This is my neighborhood mine, mine, mine and you can't play here because I was here first."

Every retailer can and will develop a tasteful store if the people demand it. Besides, the days of building big box stores are just about over.

Even Walmart has discovered that gargantuan stores are no longer necessary. The neighborhood market they built at Reno and Midwest Boulevard in MWC is much smaller than the neighborhood markets they built about 5 years ago. The place is kept very clean and the outdoor lighting is not the bright intrusive lights they put on stores back years ago. It's nice ambient light that lights up the parking lot in the areas that need to be lit. The areas just off the edge of the property are dark as if no store exists at all.

As far existing locations are concerned, many times retrofitting and demolition of existing sites cost more than building your own space. Not to mention, some of the existing developments want crazy rent rates because they are in one location over another even though there property is lack luster compared to what the retailer wants for there store.