TEXAS SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART SETS UP TELEPHONE SESSION

Wal-Mart sets up telephone session [Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times]

Wal-Mart will conduct a teleconference to answer questions about its proposed Southside Supercenter, saying neighbors opposed to it have spread misleading information—an assertion that a leader of the opposition says is itself an attempt to mislead.

The event, described by Wal-Mart officials as a telephone town hall regarding the company’s proposed development at South Staples Street and Timbergate Drive, will be at 6 p.m. today. Those interested can call (866) 447-5149 and enter 12964 when asked to enter a pin number.

The phone conference is one of several measures, including a town hall-style meeting, which the company has taken in the past several months seeking to gain public approval for its request to rezone the proposed store site from residential to commercial. The zoning issue will go before the City Council on June 19.

“The reason we are doing this (teleconference) is because we have found those in opposition of the development are spreading information that is misleading,” said Sally Aiello, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. “We also understand that not everyone who wanted to attend the town hall meeting had the opportunity.”

She said those who oppose the project are telling neighbors that the Wal-Mart will be “a few feet” from homes in surrounding neighborhoods. The back part of the store will have a 900-foot buffer zone from the nearest home, Aiello said.

Tim Dowling, a local lawyer who opposes the Supercenter, said proximity is in the eye of the beholder. The vehicular traffic to the store will be much nearer than the 900 feet between the store and the nearest homes, he said.

“I don’t think the neighbors’ concerns are misleading,” Dowling said. “Regardless of the dimensions, we know there will be an increase of traffic cutting through neighborhoods to get to the Wal-Mart that will cause congestion in the area.”

Dowling and other neighbors say the traffic and a store open 24 hours would disrupt their quiet neighborhoods. They have set up a Web site at http://notimbergatewalmart.com to keep people informed of the latest Wal-Mart developments.

A new posting urges people to meet at 3 p.m. Sunday to coordinate efforts and prepare for the June 19 council vote. A place for the meeting has not been decided, according to the Web site. Dowling said the news media would not be invited to attend the event.

Wal-Mart also has established a Web site, http://www.walmart-timbergate.com, and purchased ads in the Caller-Times releasing results of a two-day telephone survey conducted in May by Virginia-based Advantage Inc.

According to the survey, 2,370 respondents from registered-voter households in City Council District 5 favor the project. Of the 4,906 people contacted, 707 opposed it, 687 were undecided and 1,142 declined to answer questions.

The surveyors asked: Do you favor or oppose the construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on South Staples and Timbergate Drive? If the residents answered that they were opposed, they were asked: What is the main reason for your opposition?

The survey had a 2.5 percent margin of error and was conducted through random phone calls to registered-voter households in District 5, Aiello said.

The survey showed that the main concern among those who oppose the store continues to be traffic, followed by proximity to homes and putting smaller businesses out of business.