Jane Howell: Don’t let them pave over paradise with dollar stores
It looks like the powers that be in Tuolumne County might approve a plan which would mean (in the words of Joni Mitchell’s song “Big Yellow Taxi”) : “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” In this case, they’re also adding a Dollar General Store with a fake “historic” facade to a vacant lot at the gateway to Columbia State Historic Park!
The store will be located on the main – and only – artery which runs through the park. Large transport trucks, the Columbia Fire Department, CalFire emergency vehicles and traffic from Columbia College and the elementary school travel this road. Yet, they want to add more vehicles to the intersection of Parrotts Ferry, Springfield and North Airport roads?
Again in the words of Joni Mitchell: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?”
Truer words....
Jane Howell, Columbia
Editor’s note: The Tuolumne County planning commission rejected the application for the Dollar General store on Dec. 16; the company has 10 days to file an appeal.
This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Jane Howell: Don’t let them pave over paradise with dollar stores."