The next step in determining whether or not a proposed Wal-Mart store in Mill Creek is coming up, but a final decision on the store may not come anytime soon.
A continuation of recent appeals hearings on the project is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 7, in the first floor hearing room at the Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., in Everett. The hearing is open to the public.
Two groups are appealing the application by Lynnwood-based Gramor Development, which plans to build the store. One appellant is the grassroots group Citizens For A Better Mill Creek/Thomas Lake, which is opposed to not only the development and its impact on streets and the surrounding community, but Wal-Mart’s business practices. The other appellant is residential developer The McNaughton Group, whose primary concerns are with property easements in the area. Both groups have claims against a hearing examiner ruling that determined the project would have no significant environmental impacts.
The hearing examiner process is similar to a court trial. Experts in certain fields take the stand and are open to cross examination by citizens and attorneys for all represented parties. The Tuesday hearing will have Gramor Development’s water and drainage expert, Doug Beyerlein, up for cross examination.
The proposed store would be located on 132nd Street Southeast at 39th Avenue Southeast. The site is across from the Buffalo Square shopping center and Archbishop Murphy High School. An abandoned barn and another derelict structure currently sit on the proposed store location and a small wetland is just to the west of it.
The proposed Wal-Mart would be a 149,000-square-foot building on 17.4 acres, with parking. Previous hearings on the project took place Jan. 25 and Feb. 7-8. Another hearing date is expected in order to complete the entire appeals process, according to documents from the hearing examiner’s office. Once the appeals are completed, the hearing examiner has 15 days to issue a decision.
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