Walmart store plans hit snag

Oakland Park weighs fate of old Kmart site

OAKLAND PARK — Walmart’s plans to build a new superstore in a vacant Kmart shopping plaza have stirred up controversy, but there’s little doubt the store will ultimately open.

Even if commissioners reject the new site plan for the property at the south- east corner of Oakland Park Boulevard and Northeast Sixth Avenue, Walmart would still be able to open in the aging 47-year-old building already there.

The issue, Commissioner Shari McCartney said, was whether the city gets the proposed new construction or “the Kmart we have now with a Walmart sign on it.”

Walmart is proposing tearing down the closed Kmart and building a 121,345-square-foot supercenter, including grocery and department stores. The store would face Oakland Park Boulevard and the property would have fewer entry and exit points.

The city’s Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended denial of the plan in June. The proposal presented to commissioners last week included changes the company worked out with staff to address traffic and other concerns.

But commissioners were not able to reach a decision and postponed the issue until their July 22 meeting.

Only three commission- ers are deciding the fate of the project. Vice Mayor Tim Lonergan and Commissioner John Adornato have excused themselves because their employers have business arrangements with either Walmart or a related foundation.

Mayor Jed Shank, seeking additional “voluntary” options from Walmart to “mitigate some of the outstanding concerns and unknowns,” asked for the delay to give the company time to see if it had any