Tonight in Town Hall, a discussion of the future of discount shopping in Wareham will continue as the Planning and Zoning Board host a joint hearing about Walmart’s proposed construction of a new 152,124-square-foot facility on the western side of town.

The controversial proposal surfaces as the superstore says it needs the new building to extend it services into selling a full line of groceries. They further claim that merely expanding at their current location is untenable, as zoning restrictions prevent them from offering the whole range of goods that the expansion is proposed to support.

Opponents of the plan note that the future store site is adjacent to Strow’s Folly Brook, and could have profound impacts both on the community’s water table and on the endangered Eastern Box turtles that make the brook their home. They also note that the shift in traffic patterns that the new store would create may pose a danger to students at nearby Decas Elementary School, and that the continual shift of retailers to West Wareham is negatively effecting the aesthetics and commercial viability of East Wareham.

Proponents of the plan counter that Walmart’s 30,000 square foot expansion will bring both additional tax revenue and jobs to the community, as well as access to cheaper groceries. They also argue that trying to block Walmart’s move to West Wareham will not force the company to stay in the East Wareham location, it will simply inspire them to move their entire operation to a different town entirely.

Tonight’s Planning/Zoning hearing will address the store’s application for a site plan review and special permit.  It will begin at 7 p.m. in Town Hall’s lower-level cafeteria.