Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/313059
Paul Tuttle of the Anti-Walmart Sarasota Direct Action Committee does not feel the traffic concerns received the necessary atten- tion from the board. He also worries about the impact of the store's all-day operation on the neighborhood directly bordering it. "The traffic in that area is going to be one of the biggest issues," Tuttle said. "That area is already congested. I'm not sure if it is the most dangerous intersection in Sarasota County, but it is one of the worst." A rezone that allowed the project to proceed, however, won County Commission approval on a 4-1 vote in April 2013. Commissioner Nora Patterson was in the minority, voicing displeasure that under a "proportionate fair share" agreement, the developer would have to pay only $31,822 of an estimated $528,012 in expenses for the traffic improvements needed once the store has been completed at the Bee Ridge/ Beneva intersection. During the County Commission meeting, Commissioner Joe Barbetta offered support for the project, saying the store is proposed for an area that is already a "commercial cor- ridor." It would draw a lot of its business from residents who live nearby, he maintained, thus easing some of the traffic concerns. "We hope to open the store in the fall," Bill Wertz, spokesman for Walmart, told the News Leader this week. "This is our smaller grocery and phar- macy, about a quarter a size of the Walmart A Walmart Neighborhood Market was welcomed when it opened on North Tamiami Trail in September 2012. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader May 16, 2014 Page 35