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Neighborhood Relieved By Wal-Mart's Retreat

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By TONY MARRERO, Hernando Today

Published: January 2, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Arnold Silver considers it a belated but welcome holiday gift.

Silver and other residents near Barclay Avenue are thankful this week after learning that Wal-Mart will not continue its effort to build a supercenter on a site near Powell Middle School.

"I'm delighted to hear this," said Silver, a Silverthorn resident and one of many vocal opponents of the plan. "It's a bit of very good news."

The retailer announced Friday that it won't pursue further legal action to build on the parcel, which is on the east side of Barclay between Suncoast Villa Apartments and the Publix-anchored Barclay Square at Spring Hill Drive.

Wal-Mart is acting "in good faith" to find a more suitable site and has its eye on property on the northeast corner of Hernando-Pasco County Line Road and the Suncoast Parkway, spokeswoman Quenta Vettel said.

The company is evaluating the site but has not finalized a contract, Vettel said.

"If there's a possibility of coming back and finding a site and working with the county, we'd rather do that than take it to the legal realm," she said.

County Rejected Plan

The Hernando County Commission in May denied Wal-Mart's request to build on the Barclay parcel. Commissioners said the store would create too much traffic along Barclay and create potential safety problems for schools and subdivisions.

David Theriaque, attorney for Wal-Mart, maintained that his client received an unfair hearing because of comments made by Commissioners David Russell and Chris Kingsley at a previous meeting.
Theriaque cited a Hernando Today article in which Russell and Kingsley indicated they would vote against the proposed Wal-Mart. Such comments made before an official vote violated the rules on quasi-judicial proceedings, which prohibit making preconceived judgments, according to Theriaque.

Wal-Mart attorneys asked for a mediator to resolve the matter. The mediation ended in an impasse, County Attorney Jon Jouben said last week.

The next step would have been a special master hearing in which an independent lawyer would have heard arguments from the county, Wal-Mart and the owner of the Barclay parcel.

Wal-Mart's decision to give up the fight saves residents from living in limbo for months or longer, Silver said.

"With all Wal-Mart's wealth, they might have prolonged it for quite a while," he said.

Fred Maier is co-chairman of United Communities Save Our Neighborhood, a 20-member committee set up by local homeowners associations to block the development of Wal-Mart or any other big-box store near their homes.

Maier, who lives in Pristine Place, said the group was ready to "ask the people of this county if they wanted to support the other three Wal-Mart stores" in Hernando if the retailer insisted on moving forward with legal maneuvering for the Barclay site.

"As far I'm concerned, they made a wise business decision and we're happy with it," Maier said.

Jerry Greif, chief planner for the county, said the parcel Wal-Mart is eyeing on County Line Road has a planned development project zoning designation. The retailer could build under such a designation if it met performance conditions on the books, Greif said.

Russell said he also was glad to hear the news of Wal-Mart's change of heart.

"I think it's commendable on Wal-Mart's part to acknowledge the community's valid concerns about the location at Barclay," he said.

A Better Site?

Russell said he thinks the County Line Road parcel has the potential to be a much more appropriate site.

The project to widen County Line Road to four lanes is imminent, he said. A planned extension of Ayers Road from U.S. 41 also will help move traffic in the area; the county recently received money from the state to pay for right of way for that project.

Russell said he doesn't regret his comment that prompted Wal-Mart attorneys to cry foul.

"Sometimes you just have to speak out and do what's right," he said. "I think the signal was sent to Wal-Mart that we were serious."

Silver said he's hopeful that Wal-Mart's decision bodes well for similar fights that inevitably will play out between the retailer and would-be neighbors throughout the United States.

"I think the corporations these days are becoming more conscious of their social obligation, and I hope that's partly what's in their minds with this decision," Silver said.

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