Letter: Walmart is better than an empty building

It’s ironic that people, like those opposed to Walmart, complain about how Walmart hurts the small business sector causing closings and empty buildings in cities and creating more traffic problems and harming the environment. Well, Burbank is slowly accumulating empty buildings around town and Walmart has nothing to do with it.

As a matter of fact, the store would actually reduce the number of empty buildings in town if only it was allowed to occupy the Great Indoors building as intended. So who’s fault is this? People thinking of themselves who would rather have depressing, eyesore empty buildings around town than let things run their course.

Whatever happened to free enterprise and the American way? Soon Blockbuster will be closing across the street from the former Conroy’s location at Buena Vista and Burbank Boulevard and we will have two empty buildings to look at in the same intersection. Who likes to see all these empty stores? I don’t and I know plenty of other Burbank citizens who are tired of it too.

Opponents act worried about Burbank’s “charm” being ruined by these changes but it looks like the charm is slowly going down the tube anyway as more and more places close up and sit empty indefinitely like the ones already there. Maybe it’s time to consider how Burbank can benefit and prosper from these businesses. When the city prospers, so does its citizens.

A. Howard
Burbank