MONROE — A group of business owners and residents has started an online petition campaign asking the City Council to limit the size of the new Wal-Mart that’s coming to town.
The group, the Monroe Preservation Action Committee, says it is mainly concerned about the impact the new shopping center will have on U.S. 2 traffic.
Wal-Mart hopes to build a 155,000-square-foot store — about 3 acres — on 24 acres of land it bought on N. Kelsey Street. About 18 acres can be developed.
“We are against a store that size in that location,” said Stashka Lepera , one of the group’s leaders. “If Wal-Mart builds a smaller store, it will bring less traffic.”
She is hoping to gather 1,000 signatures in the next few days to submit to the City Council.
Wal-Mart also wants good traffic flow and that’s why it is working with city officials, spokeswoman Tiffany Moffat said. “We want to build a store that makes sense to the community and enhances it,” she said.
The proposed site plan was received by the city staff on Dec. 22. Currently, the city is working with Wal-Mart representatives to prepare the development agreement. The agreement is expected to go before the council in February, city administrator Gene Brazel said.
The council approved selling the land for $7.5 million to Sabey Corp. at its Dec. 14 meeting. The offer was $2 million less of a proposal rejected in 2009 by the same company. The city rejected that offer because city leaders did not want a Wal-Mart in town.
The Monroe Preservation Action Committee was created in late December.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
