Council Votes to Rezone, Approves New Wal-Mart
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A new Wal-Mart is coming to Montgomery.
After months of debate and push back from residents, Montgomery City Councilmen voted to rezone land around the former Bonnie Crest Country Club from institutional to commercial, essentially paving the way for the retail store.
“I’m disappointed in the vote,” says Montgomery resident Connie Colvin.
Colvin wasn’t the only person upset Tuesday evening after Montgomery City Councilmen voted to rezone land around the former Bonnie Crest Country Club from institutional to commercial. The decision will make way for a neighborhood Wal-Mart to move in.
“If you go to Wal-Mart, they never clean their streets,” she says. “It’s like a dump. If you want to know where the dump is, go to each Wal-Mart, that’s where it is.”
This Wal-Mart will be strictly a grocery store, not a super center, but residents who oppose it say it will only bring trouble.
“When you have that many residents coming in and out, you will increase crime,” says resident Andrew Payne. “There’s no doubt about it. As the crime rate goes up, the property values go down.”
Councilman Charles Smith says he voted against the Wal-Mart out of respect for the people in the Morningview neighborhood, which backs up to the land the Wal-Mart will be built on.
“I felt like a grocery store, whether is has Wal-Mart on the door, Publix on the door, or Winn-Dixie on the door, or whatever, was a reasonable use of the land but they didn’t want it.”
Councilman Arch Lee voted for the new Wal-Mart.
“At the end of the day, I felt like it was the right decision and that’s why I cast the vote I did,” he says. “And I think it will be a benefit to the city and to that area.”
Though some of his constituents strongly disagree.
“People called and said please don’t do this and our councilman did and I’m not very happy with that,” Colvin explains.
Five councilman voted for the Wal-Mart, three voted against it and one abstained.
