Residents boo, hiss and tell Wal-Mart it's not welcome
Representatives of the retail giant wanted to discuss site options for a supercenter. A zoning hearing is next.
By MELIA BOWIE
Published May 28, 2003
HOLIDAY - More than 230 people showed up Tuesday night to tell Wal-Mart representatives what they didn't get the chance to say at a meeting last month: "We don't want you!"
"I looked for a year to find a home that's safe for my family," said Gulf Trace homeowner Laura Baker. "We were not prepared for this. We paid top dollar for our homes because we want a beautiful neighborhood, a beautiful community.
"I don't see how we're going to maintain that if you bring in Wal-Mart. We can shop somewhere else; we don't want it."
The sentiment was echoed countless times during a meeting with residents in the Holiday recreation center's gym.
Wal-Mart officials held the meeting to discuss site plan options associated with their bid to buy 30 acres at U.S. 19 just north of Gulf Trace Boulevard.
The retail giant is proposing a 207,502-square-foot supercenter plus a gas station. Wal-Mart has a contract to buy the property, but it hinges on approval from the county to rezone 20 acres on the site from multifamily housing to commercial.
A county zoning hearing is set for June 11, and county commissioners are scheduled to hear the proposal on June 19.
"Really what we've got is two options," said David Campbell with Kimley-Horn & Associates, the engineering firm representing Wal-Mart.
The first option would entail placing a traffic light at U.S. 19 and Gulf Trace; company representatives also discussed widening Gulf Trace Boulevard from two lanes to four. A second option would forgo the light and place a signal at Wal-Mart's driveway instead of the major artery.
Both plans elicited a resounding round of boos, hisses and critiques from the crowd.
Traffic engineers said the first plan will limit traffic flow at Gulf Trace and prevent drivers from making left turns onto northbound U.S. 19. They also pointed out that the state Department of Transportation and the county prefer interconnecting roadways away from main arteries.
But as the meeting continued, the site plan presentation gave way to a heated question-and-answer session. Residents voiced their concerns about crime, property values, the supercenter's impact on local wetlands and its effect on neighboring small businesses.
When Wal-Mart comes in, it stomps out the competition; and that means the loss of existing jobs, said Princess Obriot of Baileys Bluff Estate.
More than 300 homes in the neighborhoods of Gulf Trace, Edgewood and Westwood would be affected by the rezoning, along with neighboring communities.
In a show of support, Beacon Woods residents opposing a Wal-Mart there offered slips of paper bearing the number of a toll-free hotline (1-866-235-0576) they have established to fight the company.
And as the meeting went on, residents drove home one theme:
"We're not here for option A or B," said Gulf Trace homeowner Mike Harvan. "We don't want you."
