The company would pay to close an entrance to Beacon Woods to prevent shoppers from using it as a shortcut.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published November 23, 2003
BAYONET POINT - If Beacon Woods residents want to trade convenience for some peace and quiet, Wal-Mart officials are willing to pick up the tab.
The retail giant sent letters to thousands of Beacon Woods homeowners this month offering to close the community's entrance on Beacon Woods Drive, just past the site where Wal-Mart plans to build a 203,700-square-foot supercenter.
The supercenter's plans include a bridge over Bear Creek leading to a driveway on Beacon Woods Drive, fueling neighbors' concerns that shoppers and delivery trucks might cut through their golf course community to get to Wal-Mart. Closing the community's entrance on Beacon Woods Drive would prevent those drivers from cutting through.
"We've had no less than eight meetings with the residents or their representatives, and that kept coming back to us as something they were concerned about," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Davis Moore said. "This is something that if residents support it, we're certainly willing to do it."
About 850 residents have signed a petition in favor of closing that community entrance if Wal-Mart gets a driveway on Beacon Woods Drive, said Ray Watson, president of the Beacon Woods Civic Association. Their plan calls for a locked gate that could be opened by emergency responders.
But even more residents - nearly 2,300 - have signed another petition opposing Wal-Mart's plans for a driveway on Beacon Woods Drive. The supercenter, which would house general merchandise and a full-service grocery store under one roof, still would have two driveways on U.S. 19.
"Our community is not against progress," Watson said. "We just don't want 10,000 cars scrambling through our community, day in and day out, seven days a week."
The golf course community includes 2,146 homes and 588 condos and villas.
In her letter to homeowners, Moore said county and state transportation officials prefer the supercenter plans with a driveway on Beacon Woods Drive, which leads to a traffic signal at U.S. 19.
County officials would have to sign off on any plans to close the community's entrance at Beacon Woods Drive. Raising the barricades could have a domino effect, however.
The closure of the popular Beacon Woods Drive entrance would force more residents to use the community's other entrances: Cobblestone Drive and Majestic Boulevard at State Road 52, and Clayton Boulevard or Woodbine Drive at Fivay Road. Some of those intersections might need additional lanes to handle the extra traffic.
If so, county officials say Wal-Mart should pay for that, too.
"We would look to (Wal-Mart) to mitigate any additional impacts, if they exist," said assistant county attorney David Goldstein.
A Dec. 9 traffic study by a Wal-Mart-hired consultant shows hundreds of cars using Beacon Woods Drive during a "peak hour" to get in and out of the community.
From 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. that day, Kimley-Horn and Associates counted 201 cars turning from U.S. 19 onto Beacon Woods Drive. Another 240 cars turned from Beacon Woods Drive onto U.S. 19.
Those cars would add to the congestion at the other entrances if the one at Beacon Woods Drive is closed.
A "deliberate campaign'
So what happens now?
Wal-Mart must conduct a more detailed traffic study, Goldstein said. It should estimate the traffic patterns under two scenarios: one with the Beacon Woods Drive entrance to the community open, another with it closed, he said.
"They would look at the distribution of traffic and what kind of improvements are needed to handle the traffic," said Cindy Jolly, the county's development director.
The study also will show what improvements, if any, Wal-Mart would have to make under the proposed U.S. 19 concurrency ordinance. The measure would bar developers from making the traffic on U.S. 19 any worse.
If the County Commission approves the ordinance on Dec. 2, Wal-Mart could build a store as big as the previous user of the site, the 120,780-square-foot Bayonet Point Mall. But Wal-Mart's total plans top 212,242 square feet, said Doug Uden, director of the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization.
That means Wal-Mart would have to take the difference in store space - 91,462 square feet - and determine how many extra car trips it would draw. Then the retail giant would have to pay for the traffic improvements to handle those cars, Uden said.
Wal-Mart does not need a rezoning to build a supercenter at U.S. 19 and Beacon Woods Drive. But it does need the county's blessing for its site plan.
The plans are tentatively scheduled to come before the county's Development Review Committee for a public hearing Jan. 13 - but that date could change if the developer needs more time, Jolly said.
The DRC's decision on Wal-Mart's plans could be appealed to the County Commission.
In the meantime, Wal-Mart has launched a public relations campaign to drum up support for the supercenter. The company sent oversized color brochures this month to thousands of residents outside Beacon Woods, but within a two-mile radius of the supercenter site, Moore said.
"Quality services close to home mean less time spent in traffic, and more time with family," reads the brochure, ticking off the benefits of a supercenter near Beacon Woods.
The company also touts its economic impact, saying the supercenter will create 475 jobs and nearly $3-million in new sales tax revenues per year.
Wal-Mart even asks for residents' support, enclosing a post card that can be mailed back to its Tampa office. It reads: "Yes, I agree. This new Wal-Mart Supercenter belongs in my community."
"We have seen support from the surrounding areas," Moore told the Pasco Times. "We're hearing from a lot of people in Beacon Woods that they want this, too. They may not be the most vocal people, but they live there, too."
But Watson, the civic association president, pointed to the thousands of petition signatures opposing Wal-Mart's plans. He also questioned whether the supercenter would create jobs and additional tax revenue, or simply siphon those jobs and dollars from existing businesses.
"It's a deliberate campaign," Watson said of the company brochure. "They're entitled to do it, but we're going to counter it."
- Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com
Staying informed
Wal-Mart has set up a toll-free number at 1-866-835-5400 for people to ask questions about the proposed supercenter.
The Pasco Citizens for Growth Management also has a toll-free number, 1-866-690-1028, to provide updates on the supercenter, the proposed U.S. 19 concurrency ordinance and other issues. The group can be reached by e-mail at publicsafety@tampabay.rr.com
