Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Despite abrupt ending, Wal-Mart fight mattered

By DIANNE STEINLE
Published April 9, 2006

The members of Friends of the Anclote River dedicated time, passion and a lot of cash to the battle to keep a Wal-Mart Supercenter off a beautiful, 74-acre property alongside the Anclote River in Tarpon Springs. Giving up the fight must be difficult and sad for them.

Late last month an appellate court dismissed one of the two lawsuits opponents filed against Wal-Mart and the city government. Just getting to that point with that one lawsuit, which asked the court to determine whether the city violated procedural rules in approving the Wal-Mart, had cost the Friends more than $100,000. Their second lawsuit, which claimed the project violated the city's comprehensive plan, was expected to cost $300,000 to $400,000 to litigate. They just didn't have the money, so they voted to drop the case.

Corporations like Wal-Mart count on opponents' not having the deep pockets to fund a court fight. But the Friends of the Anclote River were fighting an uphill battle from a legal perspective as well. Years earlier the city, in a decision devoid of environmental foresight, designated the property for commercial use. Wal-Mart is commercial. A majority of commissioners said they had no legal grounds to deny the project.

So now the plan goes forward. It calls for a 204,000-square-foot supercenter, a 1,000-space parking lot, a bus station and a new access road on the property on the east side of U.S. 19 on the south bank of the river. In an effort to gain city approval, Wal-Mart also promised to give the city 27 acres of wetlands on the property, pay for building a nature trail through the wetlands, and provide a canoe and kayak launch on the river. More than 800 of the property's 1,500 trees will be cut down. The rolling landscape will be rearranged to make way for concrete and asphalt.

No matter how much people opposed a Wal-Mart there, once it is built, it likely will become a popular, bustling retail hub.

So did the Friends of the Anclote River waste their time and money?

Because they showed up at City Hall early and often to speak about the project, city officials demanded more amenities of the retailer, and the retailer offered more concessions. Because they didn't go away after the City Commission approved the project in January 2005, Wal-Mart endured a year of delays. Indeed, the opposition of groups like these around the country is making Wal-Mart's construction of new stores increasingly time-consuming and not the slam-dunks they prefer.

The most valuable lesson drawn from the opponents' battle against the Tarpon Springs Wal-Mart is that the public must improve its awareness of city codes, land use and zoning designations, and development proposals. It is probably naive for residents of any city to expect their local government to always reflect their values and protect them from inappropriate development.

Had Tarpon residents been aware earlier that the city was seeking commercial development of such a sensitive and attractive property, these 74 acres might have been protected from overdevelopment. The city or county might even have turned the site into a park - a green oasis along busy U.S. 19.

After the Wal-Mart vote last year, city commissioners realized the land development code needed to be thoroughly reviewed and modified. The city staff is conducting that review now, but the public should be interested and involved, too. Residents can access the City Commission's agenda on the city web site and watch for agenda items that relate to the land development code or proposed new projects.

Some of the changes needed in city codes have become obvious in the last couple of years as developers rediscovered Tarpon Springs. The city obviously needs to identify all open land remaining inside the city limits and make sure it is properly zoned. The city needs to require that projects provide more open space, as well as better setbacks, landscaping and building design. The land development code needs to address view corridors, building heights and transition zones, for example, in ways that reflect the community's values. The code needs to provide better protection for the environment, given Tarpon Springs' numerous bayous, wetlands, and the presence of the Anclote River, an outstanding Florida waterway. City officials and the public need to debate this question: What level of development should be permitted along those waterways in the future?

This is important stuff. The battle against Wal-Mart proved that. And that made the fight worthwhile.

--Diane Steinle may be contacted at steinle@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 9, 2006, 00:20:18]