Construction on a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Arnold could begin by the end of the year.
The Arnold City Council voted 7-1 June 7 to approve a minor record plat for Water Tower Development LLC to build a supercenter just south of the current Wal-Mart store on Jeffco Boulevard, despite objections from several Arnold residents and union representatives who urged the council to deny the plat.
Water Tower Development must submit improvement plans to the city’s Community Development Department staff before beginning construction, which the developer hopes to do before the end of the year, said Community Development director Mary Holden.
According to plans the St. Louis County developer had at the June 7 council meeting, the old Wal-Mart would be torn down and parking would be placed there.
No details were available about a construction timetable, but a new supercenter that opened in De Soto in 2004 was built in nine months.
The plat changes 19 lots into five, with one large lot for the supercenter and four out lots.
Church of Christ on Scot Drive was a co-applicant for the record plat because plans call for Water Tower Development to buy part of its property for the new store.
Water Tower Development also has acquired properties along Arnold Drive for the supercenter.
The council agreed in April to rezone the property for commercial development.
As with the rezoning, several people, including union representatives and Schnucks employees, urged the council on June 7 to vote against the record plat. They argued that a Wal-Mart Supercenter would put other stores out of business and local residents out of good paying jobs, replacing them with low-paying jobs with few or no benefits.
Supercenters are larger than regular Wal-Mart stores and contain a full-service grocery store.
Arnold Planning Commission chairman Brian McArthur, on the other hand, warned the council members that they could not base their decision on Wal-Mart’s employment practices but instead must decide based on specifics of the record plat application.
“I would caution you not to turn it down for anything not on the plat or you could find yourself in litigation, and I don’t believe you can win,” he said.
Ward 1 Councilman Paul Vinson cast the dissenting vote.
He said he voted against the record plat because he wanted to take a stand against the development.
“I did not support the (previous) rezoning when I was on the Planning and Zoning,” he said. “The problem I see is the council has no place to say no to this, not to the rezoning or to the plat. We’re shoe-horned into voting for it, so I chose this avenue to vote no. Had I prevailed, there may have been a problem. But, sometimes you have to go with your heart.”
Ward 3 Councilman Phil Amato said he was voting yes, even though he wants the city to require Wal-Mart to sign a no-compete clause that would prevent the company from building another supercenter in a nearby city or town.
Water Tower Development would have to submit development plans to the Planning Commission and City Council before construction could proceed.
