The retailer still wants a driveway in its new plan. Residents raise safety concerns.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published October 6, 2004
BAYONET POINT - It's deja vu, Wal-Mart style.
The world's largest retailer is gearing up to file new plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter near Beacon Woods - just three months after county officials rejected the previous blueprints over traffic concerns.
Cindy Jolly, the county's development director, said she expects to receive new plans this week for the same 30-acre site. As with the previous plans, the design would be reviewed by county planners, then brought before the county's Development Review Committee for a public hearing and a vote.
"The revised site plan addresses the issues raised concerning Beacon Woods Drive and the access to Beacon Woods Drive," said Glenn Smith, an attorney for Wal-Mart.
Smith said Wal-Mart still wants a driveway on Beacon Woods Drive, but engineers would offer other safety improvements. He declined to say what those improvements would be.
The previous plans called for a 203,700-square-foot supercenter at the old Bayonet Point Mall on U.S. 19, just north of Beacon Woods Drive. Wal-Mart wants a southern driveway onto Beacon Woods Drive so shoppers could use the existing signal at U.S. 19.
But county engineers and many Beacon Woods residents said the additional traffic would make Beacon Woods Drive less safe. During the first round, Wal-Mart proposed adding a concrete median that would limit the number of spots for turns and U-turns, but the Development Review Committee rejected that plan July 15.
Wal-Mart appealed the decision, but the retailer will put that appeal on hold once the new plans are filed, Jolly said.
The news got mixed reactions in Beacon Woods: Some are glad to see any delay in Wal-Mart's plans, but others are growing weary of the fight.
"Two and a half years have gone," said Beacon Woods Civic Association vice president Ray Watson, "and I'm right back where I started."
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 hall@sptimes.com
