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JAN WESNER CHILDSConcerned neighbors win promises from the giant retailer about traffic and retention pond safety.
ST. PETERSBURG - Wal-Mart has won city approval to build its first supercenter in St. Petersburg, and construction could begin as soon as October.
Last week, the Environmental Development Commission voted 5-0 to let Wal-Mart proceed with plans to build a 208,000-square-foot grocery store/retail outlet at 3501 34th St. S. It could be open for business by next June and would operate round-the-clock seven days a week.
Neighbors of the proposed supercenter on south U.S. 19 took their concerns to the EDC meeting at City Hall Wednesday and walked away with a list of promises from the giant retailer.
Among the guarantees: No vehicle access to the store from 38th Avenue S, a 6-foot fence around the store's retention pond and a pledge to try to attract a sit-down restaurant for an adjacent property.
Two board members, Thomas Whiteman and Michael Van Butsel, left the meeting early and were absent for the vote.
The EDC is an appointed board that reviews projects that require variances or site plan approvals. Wal-Mart had to go before the board because the retailer was asking for special permission to build an outdoor garden center.
The project will not go before the City Council unless someone appeals the EDC decision.
In negotiations with city officials and residents, Wal-Mart had already agreed to plant trees, build a wall to help block the noise from delivery trucks and add architectural details to its usually plain, boxy building.
"In working with a retailer like this, these are really significant changes," said city planner John Hixenbaugh, who has been in discussions with Wal-Mart for more than six months.
The store will be built between the Ceridian office complex and a Bank of America branch. A Ramada Inn currently sits on part of the site. Across the street are a St. Petersburg College campus and a large retirement home. Wal-Mart has bought one parcel on which it will locate the supercenter and has contracts for the remainder.
Several residential neighborhoods are nearby.
More than four years ago, Wal-Mart proposed a supercenter in St. Petersburg - on land at 54th Avenue S and 31st Street - neighbors rose up in opposition. Wal-Mart eventually dropped its plan. Reaction was different this time.
Most of the 20 or so area residents who attended the EDC meeting Wednesday were resigned to the Wal-Mart development. A dozen stood up during the hearing to talk about traffic, aesthetics and safety, but most walked away satisfied.
"I got it," exclaimed Mabel Stephens, who asked that Wal-Mart build a wall between her house and the retention pond that will carry the store's stormwater to the city drainage system.
Stephens' house sits on a quarter acre of land at 3780 34th Ave. S, adjacent to the Wal-Mart site. The store is required to build a retention pond to hold stormwater runoff, and it would be located right behind Stephens' home.
"I'm concerned about pollution, mosquitoes," she said. "It would affect us directly, in my back yard. I'm going to be looking dead into a retention pond."
Stephens and other residents were also worried about keeping children out of the pond. A 6-year-old child drowned in an abandoned swimming pool at a nearby apartment complex in 1997.
"Those kids have nowhere to play, and they're all over the place," Stephens said. "We're talking about lots and lots of kids."
David Campbell, an engineer with Kimley-Horn and Associates of Tampa, represented Wal-Mart at the EDC meeting. He promised Stephens the company would build a concrete wall blocking her view of the pond and providing a safety barrier.
Campbell also promised that the retailer would help ease traffic at the site by relocating a stoplight and installing turn lanes. He also pledged there would be no vehicle access from 38th Avenue.