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Hernando Today

Wal-Mart Finally Makes Move

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By MICHAEL D. BATES

Hernando Today

Published: November 18, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando Today

It took about 18 months, but attorneys for Wal-Mart are finally ready to submit a settlement agreement to county commissioners today that could end the long mediation process after the retail juggernaut was denied a master plan to build a supercenter on Barclay Avenue.

County commissioners today will consider the agreement which would allow Wal-Mart to build its fourth supercenter on a 32-acre tract on the northeast corner of the Suncoast Parkway and County Line Road.

In exchange, Wal-Mart agrees not to bring any further legal action against the county.

Wal-Mart is asking for the store to be 185,000 square feet and open 24 hours - the same conditions as that originally proposed for Barclay Road.

The fact that Wal-Mart wants to build on County Line Road was reported months ago by Hernando Today.

The only thing today's action does is end the mediation process that has been ongoing since the county denied the Barclay master plan.

That denial came after a large-scale effort by neighbors who formed a committee called Save Our Neighborhoods to protest the proposed Wal-Mart, which would have been built on the east side of Barclay Avenue, between Suncoast Villa Apartments and the Publix-anchored Barclay Square.

The committee was made up of people from local homeowners' associations, including Silverthorn, Pristine Place, The Oaks and Sterling Hill. Its focus was to block the development of a Wal-Mart or any other "Big Box" store near their Barclay Avenue homes.

Neighbors feared traffic congestion, especially with the proximity of nearby Powell Middle School.

Although planning and zoning commissioners had recommended approval of that store, county commissioners during a subsequent Land Use Hearing voted unanimously to deny it, setting off the long legal process by Wal-Mart.

If commissioners approve the alternate Wal-Mart site, changes are expected at that County Line intersection to accommodate the store.

The county would consider putting up a traffic light that would align with the anticipated development on the southern (Pasco side) of County Line Road.

And under the agreement, Wal-Mart would have until 2012 to extend the master plan, which means construction would likely not happen anytime soon.

Today's county commission meeting begins at 9 a.m. today at the Hernando County Government Center, 20 North Main St. in downtown Brooksville.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

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