The company is offering the city 27 acres of land and a promise not to sell natural sponges.
By NORA KOCH
Published October 30, 2004
Tarpon Springs, Wal-Mart just wants to be friends.
Let the discount retailer build a supercenter on the Anclote River, and it will give you a kayak launch and a nature trail behind the store.
It'll deed 27 acres, mostly wetlands, over to the city. And Wal-Mart promises not to sell any natural sponges, the signature product of Tarpon Springs' bustling tourist scene.
Whatever Wal-Mart can do to make a smooth entry into a spot where it faces opposition from neighbors, it will.
"We want to be a good neighbor," said Wal-Mart spokesman Glen Wilkins. "We want people to be proud of the Wal-Mart that is near them."
But a park and other concessions are not enough to satisfy Joan Skaaland, who lives across the river in Sail Harbor.
"That was simply to say, "Look at what we're doing for the city of Tarpon Springs,"' Skaaland said.
Wal-Mart's plans will be reviewed Monday evening at a special session of the city's Planning and Zoning Board. After a hearing, the board will recommend whether the City Commission should approve the plan.
Because the city is expecting a large turnout from the community at the Wal-Mart hearing, they are holding a separate meeting.
Skaaland and other neighbors are rallying to bring a crowd to Monday night's hearing. They've gone door-to-door to remind other residents about the hearing and put up signs, held meetings, formed committees and spent hours researching the project.
"Everybody is ready to go in there Monday and state their case," she said.
For Skaaland's part, she fears that if the store is built, it will have a severe impact on her family's quality of life. She also worries about traffic, the environment and the potential for the discount retailer to take away business from other local stores.
Although Skaaland realizes its likely to pass, she still hopes the Wal-Mart won't come.
"Between the traffic, the environment, the cost to the community, I would hope the city of Tarpon will say this is not good for Tarpon Springs. Thank you but we pass," she said.
But because the property doesn't require any zoning changes to build a Wal-Mart there, the site-plan approval process gives little room for choice, said city attorney John Hubbard.
"The zoning on the property allows for the use they are asking for," Hubbard said. "We don't pick and choose whether it's a tire store or a shoe store or a big box retailer or a Realtor's office."
Wal-Mart has proposed building a 204,000-square-foot supercenter and 919 parking spaces on 24 acres off U.S. 19 near the Pinellas-Pasco line, according to site plans. Another 6.4 acres behind the store could be reserved for residences or offices, which Wal-Mart could sell to another developer.
In the agreement between the store and the city, Wal-Mart would deed to the city 27 acres, mostly wetlands, which will include the nature trail. The store will also give the city $60,000 to build four boardwalks off the trail into the water.
As city officials asked, Wal-Mart would agree to build a store with Greek architectural touches and plans to name a road on the property Mediterranean Boulevard. The project includes a bus transfer station designed to let passengers of the Pinellas and Pasco transit systems easily catch a bus from one county to the next. The plan also calls for Wal-Mart to contribute $175,000 to the cost of a traffic signal at U.S. 19 and Live Oak Street.
In a nod to Tarpon Springs' heritage, Wal-Mart also would agree not to sell natural sponges "as harvested and sold as tourist items at Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks," according to the agreement. The store will also provide at least 45 square feet inside the store for advertising activities at the Sponge Docks or other city tourist areas.
Wal-Mart's concessions in this project are not the norm, Wilkins said. While new stores typically try to fit in with communities, Tarpon Springs has been an unusual case.
"I've never heard of a boat launch and a nature center," he said. "I tell other people about Tarpon Springs, that there's a launch and they're like, "What?' "
The Tarpon Springs Planning and Zoning Board will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the City Hall auditorium, 324 E Pine St., to review the site plan and development agreement for the proposed Wal-Mart supercenter. City commissioners are scheduled to consider the project plans at their regular meeting on Nov. 16. For information, call the Planning and Zoning Department at (727) 938-3711.
