For those of you unfamiliar with the LEED sytem and the "credits" required for certification Whole Foods was able to get 1 point of credit under the category "SS Credit 4.3: Alternative Transportation: Low Emitting & Fuel Efficient Vehicles". The specific requirement states: "Provide preferred parking for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles for 5% of the total vehicle parking capacity of the site."

Now one should wonder how hapless the environmental consultants were that helped advise Whole Foods on this matter because under the very next category "SS Credit 4.4: Alternative Transportation: Parking Capacity" Whole Foods could have claimed the same 1 point of credit by meeting a slightly different criteria: "Size parking capacity to meet, but not exceed, minimum local zoning requirements,
AND, provide preferred parking for carpools or vanpools for 5% of the total provided
parking spaces."

Considering that quite a few shoppers arrive with 2 or more people in an auto, which translates into 2 or more people making buying decisions , if Whole Foods had provided preferred parking for car and van pools they would have actually been treating their best customers more favorably and not been annoying anyone like they did with the poor choice of preferred parking for fuel efficient vehicles.

Well that LEED stuff is a bunch of nonsense if requiring signs like this is something we can all look forward to in other new developments.

Not a single electrical outlet for an electric or hybrid car to recharge. Not a single bicycle rack. No scooter or motorcycle parking.

Instead let's insult everyone who drives their existing automobile by imposing some group like LEED altruistic agenda upon us.

I'll be glad to shop at Jewel or Dominick. And I'll be glad to continue to do what I choose to do to when it comes to environmental issues. I don't need Whole Foods or any other merchant telling me where I can and can not park. That is not the kind of relationship I will ever want with any merchant. I am the customer and I do have a choice where I shop.

I'm willing to bet these signs do not last and come down within a year.

My info was incorrect, the developer of the site (called Springbrook) was responsible for putting the parking in. See below:
____________________________________________________________________

"This component was initiated by the developer and does help the overall development qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credit.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any additional questions."

Anastasia Urban, P.E.
Project Manager
TED Business Group
City of Naperville
Phone: (630) 305-5316
Fax: (630) 420-6657

Quit your whining,

What proof do you have to support your claim that the city of naperville put in these signs? There are lots of other new commercial developments around the city and none of the other developments have these signs. So far this is a one off example found only at Whole Foods.

I'm tired of environmentalists. All they do is whine and complain about non-existent problems and cost me money. First it was global cooling, didn't happen. Then it was Acid Rain, the 1990 NAPAP study proved that one wrong. Then it's pesticides and herbicides, oops, life expectancy keeps on going up, so Cancer must not be killing too many of us. Then it's global warming and I bet that one will go down in flames too. Yet, the gullible public still buys into this garbage.

Oh yeah, remember that one? We were going to run out of landfills! LOL!!! That one died really really quickly. What I don't get is how these nuts have ANY credibility left. Remember Paul Ehrlich and his book from 1968? He said we were all going to die from starvation by 1975. Yeah, like that really happened. We are all too FAT now. Not a whole lot of starving going on in the U.S. last time I looked. Come on people be skeptical. There are way too many kooks out there playing on your fears.

By Green As I Want To Be on July 22, 2008 2:01 PM

If you want to park in the reserved parking spaces for fuel efficient vehicles at Whole Foods then just park there. I drive my SUV to Whole Foods and park in the closest Non-Handicapped spot regardless if it is reserved for fuel efficient vehicles. Park where you want to.

And I am sure that Whole Foods will do great where they are. I’m just surprised that the entitled and embittered enclaves of Tall Grass and White Eagle didn’t file suit to make Whole Foods move closer to them. Maybe on the other side of 75th Street.

And I wonder what The Napergate Man would make of all this?
--------------------------------------------

You're the only one here that sounds embittered. It's been over for months and you still can't stop obsessing about WE and TG.

The Napergate Man would probably find better things to do with his time. You should too.

Oh by the way WFM didn't put the fuel efficient parking spaces there...the city of Naperville did.

If you want to park in the reserved parking spaces for fuel efficient vehicles at Whole Foods then just park there. I drive my SUV to Whole Foods and park in the closest Non-Handicapped spot regardless if it is reserved for fuel efficient vehicles. Park where you want to.

And I am sure that Whole Foods will do great where they are. I’m just surprised that the entitled and embittered enclaves of Tall Grass and White Eagle didn’t file suit to make Whole Foods move closer to them. Maybe on the other side of 75th Street.

And I wonder what The Napergate Man would make of all this?

"Organic Kid, why am I begging on them about fuel efficient vehicles? Because I am sick and tired of Government trying to regulate absolutely everything in my life."

I'm pretty sure Whole Foods Market is NOT owned by the government.

While you are googling try entering Whole Foods sucks into your search bar and take a look at how many hits come back and what a whole host of customers, employees, and former employees have to say about the company and their business practices.

Of course you will just dismiss them all as bitter and whiners too.

And no, you can not google any company CEO and find dirt. There actually are some good CEO's out there that do not have dirt. Not all companies play with smoke and mirrors either.

If Whole Foods actually has a "bigger picture" it is doing a terrible job of communicating what that picture includes.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery a-man. Seems like you're trying to line yourself up with Mackey. Obviously he made some poor decisions there. You can google any company CEO and find dirt. Whatever you are bitter about is just a reflection of your inability to see the bigger picture. And feel free to park your car in the front row, right next to the 'fuel effecient friendly' parking spots...there are plenty of regular spaces available, even for whiners like yourself.

The only parking spots that you can't park in without getting a ticket would be handicap spots. So go ahead and park wherever you want, other than the HC unless you have plates too.

I drive a minivan because a car would not fit our family and comes in mighty handy for carpooling. It's great when one person can carpool half a team to practice rather than 6 FE cars. So for my use, a minivan is FE because I can transport more in one vehicle than a FE. I guess you can define "fuel efficient" in more than one way.

As for their food, traditional grocery stores have feed me my whole life, no reason to stop now. Furthermore, why go miles out of my way when I have 3 stores to choose from that are less than a mile for me. FE car or not, that is better on gas and the environment.

Yeah, we anonymous people have a lot in common with Whole Foods don't we... see below.

"The Wall Street Journal reported Whole Foods� CEO John Mackey has admitted to posting anonymous messages on Yahoo�s stock forum. Using the name �Rahodeb� � an anagram of his wife�s name � he �posted positive comments on Whole Foods� financial earnings. The Journal also reports he bashed competitor, Wild Oats Markets Inc� Mackey�s alter ego was revealed in a Federal Trade Commission document that came out of its effort to stop the Whole Foods�Wild Oats merger.� (Source: Austin Business Journal) Read more about John Mackey�s dubious online shenanigans on Austin�s Only Blog."

It's a shame that some 'anonymous' people just feel the need to complain, apparently to garner attention they aren't getting somewhere else. Whole Foods only has 200 stores nationwide, yet they are making strides and taking actions that benefit so many people nationally and internationally. Providing loans to underpriveleged women so they can start their own businesses. Providing GRANTS to farmers in Wisconsin whose farms have been destroyed by weather. Donating 5% of sales on specific days to local charities and organizations. Offering products with your health in mind. Seeking out and supporting local farmers/farms/products. Whiners, quit dropping names and your complaints about fuel efficient parking. So you drive a company car, eh? No excuse. Want to hear a complaint? How about you spend your time by finding a new job, and make it one that doesn't require you to drive a gas guzzling company car. Oh wait, that's probably WFM fault, too.

Organic kid,

The point is that there are more reserved parking spaces for fuel efficient vehicles at Whole Foods that probably are registered in the entire city.

Drive by any day and the spaces are all vacant and all of the soccer mom vans and SUV's are in the back of the lot. The well to do who live in Naperville drive more Hummers than Smart cars.

Once the novelty wears off the arrogance of the Brenda Avalong types will kick in and you will start seeing Hummers parked in the fuel efficient spots. It isn't like Whole Foods can enforce it or fine you or anything. Wait until it is raining. Wait until a good midwest snow storm kicks up next winter.

Reality is that it is not a wise business move to try to tell your customer what to do. For Whole Foods to demonstrate their own corporate commitment is fine, but for them to start crossing the line and dabbling in customers freedom of choice is very dangerous business. They risk offending far more than those who may agree with them. And their biggest worry is that most of those who they offend will silently walk away and never come back. Last time I checked the grocery business pretty much depended upon loyal, repeat customers. Maybe Whole Foods is experimenting with a new business model?

Would I get dirty looks if I parked my VeeDubBug in the "fuel efficient" spots? It does not guzzle like an SUV, getting 28ish in town. What is the definition and limits of "fuel efficient"? I imagine I WOULD pull in a fuel efficient spot, if I choose to go there.

I used to drive from Wheaton to Naperville to shop at Fresh Fields, before Whole Foods bought them out. Now I live in Naperville and spend most of my grocery money at Trader Joe's. TJ's offers much of the same product "philosophy" as Whole Foods with less pretentiousness and better prices than Jewel, Dominicks and Target. You go, Joe!!! I have to get to Aldi to spend less that TJ's.

I do not work for TJ's :-)

Organic Kid, why am I begging on them about fuel efficient vehicles? Because I am sick and tired of Government trying to regulate absolutely everything in my life. If people want to drive big cars, then let them. It is a free society. I submit to you that consumers will curb their driving due to PRICE without some left wing tree worshiper telling them what to do. We are in this energy predicament precisely because the government screwed up everything with their policies in the first place.

I'm with Blemum, even though you may be an employee according to anonymous. I shop the private label stuff and sale items and definitly stay away from the prepared stuff. Anonymous obviously has issues with birkenstocks and hairy people, but in reality, those aren't the people shopping those food bars. I always see the well to do there. I guess their busy lives don't leave them time to cook for themselves, but I simply have to make my own food to meet my budget. And why are you guys bagging on them about the fuel efficient vehicle parking. are you guys really so ignorant about the state of our environment as well as our economy. My hats off to whole foods for this and everything they do for local producers and the environment. you guys should check out the conversation Mackey had with Pollan. Now that is something that really matters in our society today.

I love my factory food. I suppport Iowa farmers doing it the right way. No way in hell will I shop at Whole Foods and it's overpriced garbage. We have all lost our minds in America.

Go ask any employee if they have ever heard of Dr. Bruce Ames. Not one of them have, I can guarantee it. Yet, they spout off on organic junk like they know what they are talking about.

Oh, so that is what those signs meant? And I went and locked my bicycle to one of those pretty red and white signs... silly me!

Also interesting to note is that the "FUEL EFFICIENT VEHICLE ONLY" parking spaces outnumber the handicap parking spaces by at least 3 to 1.

Notice the same thing so I took the opportunity to give Whole Foods my thoughts thru their customer service link on their web site. Below are my comments:

I just visited your new store in Naperville. I'm not sure what kind of a message you are intending to send to your customers with the "FUEL EFFICIENT VEHICLE ONLY" reserved parking.

While it is always good to see a corporation who has strong environmental policies for what is within it's own power to control like facilities and employee behavior I do have to question the logic and the message being sent by creating two classes of customers... those who drive fuel efficient vehicles and those who don't. Many of whom due to economic circumstances may not have much choice over the type of vehicle they drive. For example, I drive a company car and have no choice over make or model. Yet you have forever banned me to the back of the lot without even considering that I might be your best customer.

Also interesting was that I did not notice any electrical outlets provided in these same spots for customers driving electrical vehicles to recharge while shopping either.

Sometimes company policies trip. Sometimes company policies trip and fall. Smart executives know the difference and make things right.

By the way, our local newspaper, the Naperville Sun, has a readers forum containg a thread all about the opening of your new store at:
http://blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com/newsblog/2008/07/whole-foods-market-opening-this-week-in-naperville.html#comments

A copy of this message is being posted on the forum. You are welcome to post a reply message on the forum for all to read.

Always eager to try something new, I visited the new Whole Foods store on it's opening day. I will never return. Narrow aisles, filled with unfamiliar, overpriced products could be the reason.
But Maybe it's just the rows of "FUEL EFFICIENT VEHICLE ONLY" parking spaces that I find offensive. If Whole Foods is trying to be exclusive, they have succeeded in excluding me.

blemum,

Really? and did you factor in cost of all of the gas you wasted plus wear and tear driving back and forth to Wheaton? How about your enlarged carbon footprint?

We'll see what the average Naperville mom thinks about the value vs the competition soon enough.

In the meantime I hope your new job at Whole Foods works out for you.

To Anonymous July 15th, 2008 12:59 PM - My family and friends have shopped at Whole Foods in Dallas and here in Wheaton. On multiple occasions we have done price comparisons between Whole Foods and other stores (Jewel, Super Target, Dominick's). Every time we are surprised to find that Whole Foods is actually the same or even cheaper for a much higher quality product.

Consumers are becoming more aware of the need for food products devoid of hydrogenated oils etc. In addition, supporting local purveyors and farmers is an added bonus. If you do your shopping with an educated eye that is conscious of dollar, quantity, and quality you will find that Whole Foods is very competitive.

As for how Naperville was a long time ago, I can't comment. However, I do know that almost every one we have met in Naperville drives to Wheaton for at least some of their shopping at Whole Foods.

It will probably do well, even though their prices continue to scratch the top of the stratosphere. I only go for the produce, and avoid the pseudo-orgainic-overpriced stuff. In the prepared food section, they had vegetable kabobs for the grill.....for $7 a pound. Guess the yuppies can't chop a few veggies and stick a skewer through them?

Yawn, stretch. Yawn.

Remember when we used to have a Whole Foods before they snubbed Naperville and moved to Wheaton?

Naperville wasn't too enthusiastic about Whole Foods back then and I doubt if much has changed in the intervening years. With the current recession the overpriced business model of Whole Foods is going to be really hard to sell to most of Naperville, even more so to those with families.

Maybe the Birkenstock and hairy leg crowd will get their underwear all knotted up thinking about the granola and organic alfalfa sprouts; though I'm willing to guess the majority of Naperville will still be looking to stretch their food dollars much further.

Does this one come with two failed health inspections and a rodent infestation “out of the box”? I always like rat feces with my organic cereal.

This store, within bicycling distance of my home, will give us an alternative to Jewel. Definitely looking forward to it!

OMG WOW!!! THIS WILL CHANGE MY LIFE FOREVER!!! THANK YOU WHOLE FOODS!!!!!