Sarasota County, Florida, has approved a plan to pave over forested wetlands and build parking for a Whole Foods Market. To compensate, the developer is donating another plot of wetlands to the public.
Environmentalists have yet another reason to suspect the upscale grocery chain. After securing permission to pave over a section of wetlands, Deena Shanker writes, "The grocery chain that champions 'environmental stewardship' can now move forward with plans for a new 40,000-square-foot store in a shopping center that will also include a WaWa convenience store, a gas station, and other businesses. This is Whole Foods' second location in Sarasota."
The change involved a rezoning of the site, parts of which have been protected since 1997. "Staff members from the county's Planning and Development Services Department objected to the re-zoning, which removed requirements to preserve the wetlands."
In the face of protest from residents, the developer made some compensation. "To offset the loss, Whole Foods' developer, Atlanta-based SJ Collins Enterprises, is buying 41 acres of similarly protected land in the Manatee River Basin, about 30 miles away, and donating it to the public."
FULL STORY: Whole Foods plans to literally pave paradise, put up a parking lot
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