Plan facing final vote

Miramar commissioners are scheduled to decide this week whether to approve a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

BY NATALIE P. McNEAL and DIANA MOSKOVITZ
nmcneal@herald.com

Months of protests, petitions and community meetings will reach a conclusion this week when Miramar city commissioners take their final vote on allowing another Wal-Mart Supercenter in the city, right by the Monarch Lakes subdivision.

Wal-Mart wants to build a 24-hour, 200,000-square-foot supercenter at the northeast corner of Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road. But that requires a zoning change from rural to community business.

In response, residents living near the site have created no-Wal-Mart clothing and a letter-writing campaign and dedicated the Monarch Lakes' website, all in the hope of stoping the mega-retailer from moving in.

Commissioners approved the proposal in an initial vote in June but postponed the final vote to get more research on the store's impact.

That research includes:

• A city staff report that said the store does agree with the city's future land-use plans and the majority of the development code.

• Traffic studies from an outside firm saying the store will add traffic but not enough to make the roads fail.

It also includes 24 conditions Wal-Mart should meet. They include limitations on the hours of truck deliveries, keeping uniformed security personnel on site and no Wal-Mart trucks on sections of Monarch Lakes Boulevard and Miramar Boulevard.

And if the company later closed its Wal-Mart and Sam's Club locations along University Drive, the company would have to maintain them, try to get in a new tenant and demolish the buildings if they stay empty for two years.

But in whose favor this will all unfold is anyone's guess. When commissioners vote Wednesday night, they can only base their decision on what is presented at that meeting and how the store complies with state and local development rules.

''Yes, we do feel limited,'' Mayor Lori Moseley said. ``I think we all do what is best ultimately when the final vote is taken, but I don't know what that will be.''

The company already has eliminated a tire and lube center and a liquor store from the plans to appease nearby communities.

''We've certainly spent a good deal of time working on this and feel like we have a good proposal to put forward,'' Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said.

But many in the community who say they don't want a big-box store next to their subdivisions remain displeased.

''We just don't feel it's in the right location, if it was on Red Road, no one would say anything,'' said Carl Lanke, a Monarch Lakes homeowner. ``They are just not a neighbor we would like. They close down nearby grocery markets.''

The battle is more than just talk. Since Wal-Mart began its push for west Miramar, both sides have launched campaigns.

The Monarch Lakes subdivision, across the street from the proposed site, has a website, www.monarchlakes.org, devoted to its campaign. Homeowners have picketed City Hall, worn ''No Wal-Mart'' buttons and adopted the moniker ``Monarch Lakes, not Wal-Mart Lakes.''

In response, this summer, Wal-Mart mailed out 40,000 glossy fliers, lobbying on behalf of the supercenter moving to the city.

The brochures were custom-made by a Texas firm that has also worked on advertising campaigns for President Bush.

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