Walmart plan denied in Zionsville

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - A plan to build a Walmart in Zionsville hit a major roadblock Tuesday night. The town's board of zoning appeals denied Walmart’s request for a variance on a current town ordinance.

Walmart has been trying to build a store at Michigan Road and 106th Street in Zionsville for some time with no luck.

Zionsville has an ordinance that stops big stores like a Walmart from building. That ordinance (sometimes called a “big box ordinance”) limits the size of retail buildings to 60,000 square feet. The proposed Walmart Supercenter would be more than double that at 156,000 square feet.

The ordinance does allow retail buildings with multiple stores inside to have a square footage of 125,000 feet.

Tuesday, the Board of Zoning Appeals denied the Walmart's request for variance of ordinance after a hearing that lasted more than a three hours. Board members listened to more than a dozen residents plead their case against the Walmart.

One resident told the board, "We don't need this lower standard of living and crime. We are depending on you to protect Zionsville.... This community killer shuts down grocery stores like popcorn."

"It's very unsettling. The people who live there aren't happy about it, and are really concerned with how this will impact their families," said another resident.

A letter to WISH TV from the Zionsville Village Residents Association says, "While we support thoughtful development in Zionsville, numerous residents feel that this is not the right fit for our town for many reasons, including negative impact on home values, increased traffic, detrimental effects on our small local businesses."

Walmart was represented by lawyer Joe Calderon. He told the board he believed Walmart would be an asset to the community.

"Some of the conclusions regarding the impact of Walmart on local businesses are just speculative at their best," said Calderon. "These downtowns will thrive.. whether a Walmart is in its shadow or not."

Board members tell 24-Hour News 8 Walmart could come back with a revised plan, but it would have to comply with the 60,000 size limit.

You'll remember Walmart made a similar attempt to build on the same piece of land back in 2005, 2006. That attempt was also denied by a Zionsville board.