Sprawl-Busters reported on June 11th that a proposed Home Depot in Pembroke Pines, Florida had run into rough weather, when the Planning Board rejected their plan and sent it on to the City Commission for a final vote. That vote took place September 7th, and to the dismay of local opponents, the Commission approved construction of the new store. ”I just feel Home Depot at that intersection is going to be a disaster,” one resident told the Miami Herald. “It’s going to add traffic to that intersection.” But the developer’s ploy to threaten the community with something worse — a Wal-Mart — apparently worked. ”This property is going to get developed,” another resident was quoted as saying. “It’s not Home Depot or nothing.” The Home Depot plan was approved by the slimmest margin possible — one vote. Mayor Frank Ortis voted to approve the plan, which means that now Home Depot will sell its nearby store, which only opened in 1994, and build a larger, 152,000 s.f. store. The Mayor and the developer tried to appease the Pembroke Lakes homeowners’ association, by promising them that all delivery trucks will be routed around the neighbor — but at least 8,000 cars will be coming their way everyday.
One has to wonder what the City would have said in 1994 if Home Depot had said, “We’re going to put up this store, and then leave it in 2005.” The neighbors now can take the case to court, and do what Home Depot would have done if the retailer had lost. This decision could lead, not to a ribbon cutting, but to a courtroom, but residents have to get their show on the road soon if they hope to throw this project off track. For earlier stories, search Newsflash by “Pembroke Pines.”
