Putnam Wal-Mart hearing over; now what?

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Apr 18, 2009 - 9:36:27am

A state administrative-law judge heard five days of testimony about Wal-Mart's plan for a mammoth distribution center just north of Pierson, but he won't rule soon on whether the center should be allowed.

The distribution center, which would warehouse goods for delivery to Wal-Mart stores across Central Florida, is expected to put as many as 800 freight-laden semis a day on Volusia County roads, especially narrow U.S. Highway 17 in Northwest Volusia.

Because of the hazards and costs of that potential traffic, Volusia County government is one of the parties formally objecting to the development plan.

"Our primary interest is what we believe will be overtaxing U.S. 17," Volusia County Assistant Attorney Bruce Page said. "It's just a two-lane road. We thought the traffic issue is a big problem."

Page said at the end of the weeklong hearing April 3, the parties were told not to expect a fast decision.

"The judge told us because of the current workload, the order may not come quickly," Page said. "It's probably going to be a few months."

The fight over building the distribution center on a Putnam County potato farm is more than three years old already. The administrative-law judge's ruling may not bring it much closer to an end.

After weighing the arguments on both sides, Administrative Judge Bram Canter will write a recommended order, which will go back to the Florida Department of Community Affairs.

The Department of Community Affairs, or DCA, oversees local governments' growth plans. In this case, the DCA already approved Putnam County's request for a land-use change to accommodate the Wal-Mart distribution center, with some conditions.

The DCA can accept or reject Canter's recommendation. The administrative-law judge's order can also be sent to the governor and his Cabinet for a decision.

And, if either side in the controversy finds Canter's ruling legally deficient, the decision may be taken to court, to the 5th District Court of Appeal.

The losers, however, may not appeal simply because they don't like Canter's recommendation.

And someone is sure to be unhappy, no matter the outcome.

The parties line up with Putnam County, the DCA and Wal-Mart Stores East LP favoring the site for the distribution center, with Volusia County and the Lake Crescent Citizens for Responsible Growth opposed to it.

In late 2005, the Putnam County Board of Commissioners readily voted to rezone the potato farm along Clifton Road for the 880,000-square-foot center.

Wal-Mart promised Putnam civic and business leaders the distribution center will bring 400 to 600 new jobs, paying about $13 per hour. The project would also add more than $40 million to the tax base of Putnam County, a county the state classifies as economically depressed.

Volusia County and residents near the center objected to the rezoning from agricultural to industrial, noting Putnam County had not followed the required process of first applying to the state DCA for a land-use change for the 230-acre farm.

The Putnam County Circuit Court agreed, finding Putnam County could not rezone the property without a land-use change.

Putnam County restarted the process, and won approval for the land-use change from the DCA, with conditions. One of those conditions is improvement of the planned intersection of U.S. 17 and the road leading to the distribution center.

Volusia County and the Lake Crescent Citizens again objected, moving the disagreement into the administrative-hearing realm.

The opponents claim the massive center, which will be designed for possible expansion to 1.1 million square feet, should be located on a transportation network that can support the traffic it will generate, not in a rural area.

The opponents maintain the project would violate state growth-management laws and would be detrimental to the environment, as well as straining public services and infrastructure.

The Florida Department of Transportation has no immediate plans or available cash for widening two-lane U.S. 17 where it stretches for some 20 miles between DeLeon Springs and Crescent City, running past the proposed center.

The distribution center will also require urban infrastructure, including large water and sewer lines, bigger electric-power lines, and additional road work.

Putnam County officials have said they hope to get governmental funding to help with some of the infrastructure costs, because of the importance of the Wal-Mart jobs to Putnam residents.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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