It was standing room only at the Deerwood Elementary School in Orange County, Florida on April 14th, when Wal-Mart came to dazzle the crowd with its proposed supercenter. But nearly 200 people showed up, and brought their frustrations and anger at Wal-Mart with them. The Orange County Planning Board moderated the meeting. Residents from the Villages of Rio Pinar were present to voice their opposition to the plan. “Our roads, our neighborhoods, our low crime rates, our local businesses – all of it will suffer if Wal-Mart takes over that corner,” one resident told the Orlando Weekly newspaper. Residents of Rio Pinar conducted their own survey on Wal-Mart. They distributed 361 flyers, got 37 responses, or a 10% response rate. Only one person supported the Supercenter, while the rest opposed it because of traffic, the 24/7 hours of operation, crime, noise and aesthetics. At the April 14 meeting, the Orlando Weekly reported that “not a single resident voiced support for the Wal-Mart.” The 120,333-s.f. Supercenter is planned for a commercially zoned parcel, but the surrounding area is residential. One traffic study suggests that the store will generate an average of 3,267 daily trips to and from the Supercenter. The study also said that three roadway segments do not have the capacity to handle the increased traffic. To make matters worse, there are already two Wal-Mart supercenters and 3 Neighborhood Markets within 10 miles of this location. “With all these other Wal-Marts nearby, what do you think another Supercenter could possibly bring to our neighborhood?” one resident asked. “Normal-sized grocery stores tend to draw local community traffic, which isn’t a problem,” another resident said. “But with a 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter, their business plan is to draw people into our community from outside communities, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is not our community’s business plan. Our business plan is to raise and care for our families.” Wal-Mart tried to woo neighbors with what it called an “Alpine style” facade, intended to be more aesthetically pleasing, with an arched roofline and various exterior colors. Right behind the proposed Wal-Mart is a new housing development called “The Fountains.” “The future homeowners of this new neighborhood don’t even know that a Wal-Mart Supercenter is being built literally in their backyards,” one neighbor said. “There will only be a wall separating their homes from the 24-hour service entrance of the Supercenter. That means bright lights and huge service trucks will be bothering these residents all night.” This project will go to the Orange county Development Review Committee on April 27, which will make a recommendation to the Orange County commissioners. One neighbor pretty much summed up the sentiment at Wal-Mart’s dog and pony show. ” I don’t care what your commercials say,” she testified, “Wal-Mart is not neighborhood-friendly.”
The plain truth is that residential developments and supercenters do not mix well. There needs to be some kind of transitional zone that separates huge commercial developments from homes. You cannot buffer or berm homes from a supercenter. Wal-Mart thinks that good walls make good neighbors, because so far, homes never bothered Wal-Mart. They like having quiet residential neighbors, but they don’t give back the favor. The 24/7, noisy nature of Wal-Mart has ruined the quiet enjoyment of thousands of homeowners across the nation. Wal-Mart is one of the most inconsiderate neighbors in the country. The neighbors in Orange County hope they never have to find out first hand just how disruptive life can become with Wal-Mart as your next door neighbor.
