WAL-MART TO GO BEFORE COUNCIL TODAY IN PARK CITY, UT

Summit County postpones decision on Wal-Mart expansion [The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)]

Wal-Mart officials have been waiting two and a half years for approval of their plan to expand their west Summit County store to include grocery. And they’re going to have to wait a little longer.

After a spirited public hearing Wednesday evening, Summit County Commissioner Sally Elliot made a motion to deny the mega-retailer’s plan to expand its 72,000-square-foot outlet to 115,000 square feet.

“We haven’t taken fully into account the additional traffic that might be caused by an increase in size by Wal-Mart,” she said.

But her motion died for lack of a second.

Commissioner Bob Richer, however, citing concerns of residents about traffic at the already clogged Kimball Junction shopping area, moved to hold off on making a decision until the commission could re-examine traffic studies.

“Perhaps we should take a week, two weeks, or two months to digest it,” he said of input from concerned residents. His motion passed.

Nonetheless, Richer noted that the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission had endorsed the project and the county’s planning staff had signed off on it as well.

“I don’t take that lightly,” he said.

Still, the commission must walk a fine line if it denies the conditional use permit for the makeover, said Deputy County Attorney Dave Thomas. Wal-Mart need only show it can mitigate the impacts of the expansion.

Previously, the planning commission had denied the bigger floor plan, based on traffic concerns along Landmark Drive that intersects State Road 224 near Interstate 80.

But earlier this week, Summit County began a realignment and widening of Landmark Drive that should help alleviate traffic jams. The new route is scheduled to be completed by mid-October.

Resident Maddy Shear pleaded with the commission to wait until the new road opens before determining whether it will be sufficient to handle increased traffic she believes a Wal-Mart grocery will bring to the area.

A number of residents criticized Wal-Mart, saying the parking lot was always littered and its landscaping was not kept up.

“This is the only place in our community that looks like it’s trashed,” said Gayle Jensen Warner. “It’s an embarrassment to our community.”

The commission did not set a date to reconsider the proposal.

Posted by Tony Calero on Thursday, July 24, 2008

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