Politics & Government

New Walmart Store Approved for City

The neighborhood market could be completed in as little as six months.

In a 4-2 vote, Snellville City Council approved a controversial plan at its Monday meeting to build a Walmart Neighborhood Market store in the city.

The Walmart Neighborhood Market -- a 40,600-square-foot grocery store -- would be a unique concept in metro Atlanta. There are currently no other markets built in Georgia by the Wal-Mart company. 

"We're proud of the product," said David Kirk, an attorney with Troutman Sanders, which represented Wal-Mart Stores, LP in its application to the city. "We look forward to better serving the customers here in Snellville."

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Nearly 100 people, including about 40 wearing red shirts and "No Wal-Mart" signs packed on Oak Street in Snellville, Ga., for the public hearing and final vote of zoning requests. Approximately 80 nearby residents rallied together against Wal-Mart, hiring local attorney Nicholas Piccini to represent them.

Piccini said the next steps for the beleaguered band of residents is quite possible a law suit. At the crux of the matter, the 24-7 nature of the store, including the traffic, bright lighting and security, he said during his presentation to the city council members.

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"They're not opposed, necessarily, to the idea of a market," Piccini said, objecting to his time-limit to speak imposed by the city. It's the nature of the Wal-Mart project -- "the size and the scale is just entirely too big."

Resident Barbara Moston, who has lived in Snellville for 27 years, spoke against the project. The city, she said, will be inviting crime to a neighborhood that has existed virtually free of such burdens.

"The point is folks, everybody is somebody in Snellville. That's what we've been hearing for years. Well, we're somebody, too," Moston said. " And, I have to tell you that what is being proposed is too over-the-top for what is there and what should be there."

The city's approval -- which included a number of zoning changes and conditions -- allows the behemoth retailer to settle into a spot along Cambridge Street, Highway 78 and Westridge Drive. The site was formerly that of an a recreational vehicle retailer, which vacated the spot in 2009.

There are two Walmart supercenters on Highway 124, including one in the city. In addition, there is a Sam's Club in Snellville.

In some cases, construction for the Walmart grocery store has taken six months. There are more than 180 dotted across the United States.

In the Snellville, Ga., case, Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, Tod Warner, Tom Witts and Barbara Bender voted for the project. Kelly Kautz and Mike Sabbagh voted against the project.

Councilman Tom Witts said that he believed, given some time, that neighboring residents will have a change of heart. He said the city worked to make the application a bit more comfortable for residents, including yanking a previously included curb cut on Westridge Drive.

The 75 jobs that the store will bring are critical, he said. In addition, it will help revitalize the neighborhood.

"In the long term, I got to go with it," Witts said. "I think it's the right thing for the entire city of Snellville."

But, former Snellville Mayor Emmett Clower, who attended the meeting, said he's with the homeowners.

Quite simply, he said, "I wouldn't have done it."

Maybe, the former mayor added, an Aldi's would have been better.


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