 Tue, May 13, 2008 05:42 AM
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2007-12-28  Duluth | No decision yet on Duluth Wal-Mart
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| | by Scott Sowers | |  |
January 04, 2008 | 03:02 PM
The Duluth Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to table the decision on three variances requested by the builder of a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter until their regular January meeting. Their decision at the Dec. 19 meeting came just two days after City Council had voted to approve the new large scale development ordinance for developments over 75,000 square feet in the city.
In a meeting that lasted only a matter of minutes, board member Jack Wynn made the motion to table the decision.
"We didn't have a copy of the new ordinance until right before the meeting, so we have not had the chance to see how it may or may not affect these variance requests," Wynn said. "Therefore I recommend we table this until the Jan. 23 meeting."
Wal-Mart Southeastern Regional spokesman Glen Wilkins was not surprised at their decision, but said that Wal-Mart remains steadfast in their desire to build the supercenter near the intersection of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Sugarloaf Parkway.
"We feel we have a vested right for the ZBA to hear our case under the old ordinance," he said. "This new ordinance has a lot of restrictions for anyone who wants to build a large scale development in Duluth. We wanted to start building months ago, so as soon as we get approved we intend to get started."
Smart Growth Gwinnett, a citizens group comprised of residents of several subdivisions that surround the proposed site and the primary opponent of the new Wal-Mart, wanted the decision to be made that night and not tabled for next month.
"This is not the worst-case scenario for us, but we would've liked some decision made," said Jeff Cook, Smart Growth's president. "We wanted some closure on the matter but understand the essence of the decision.
"We thought the earlier staff reports recommended approving the variances, but now they need to look over it more. From an organizational standpoint we are now in limbo over the holidays."
- www.gwinnettherald.com
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