A May 15 special election has drawn more interest than any of the past three city elections. More than 11,000 residents have requested early ballots and another 4,000 have already cast their votes. The one reason why all the fuss: Wal-Mart.

The retail giant wants to build a 24-hour, 220,000-sf supercenter at the corner of 51st and Olive avenues. In 1999, city council had approved re-zoning of the parcel to allow for the larger store and later hours, but a public outcry had erupted when the plans were unveiled. Hundreds of nearby residents came to protest at council meetings and formed a grass-roots campaign to kill the project.

In the face of the virulent opposition, council had voted to incorporate stricter zoning rules that would limit the store's hours and cap the store size at just 90,000 sf.The owners of the land pushed to get the issue on the ballot and have the entire community vote on the issue.

The vote in Glendale will be the first in the Valley on a big box store. While other cities have put in place restrictions on just how large retail centers can be, no single store has gone before a vote of the whole city. In March, Mesa residents are scheduled to vote on a Wal-Mart, but that election has been challenged in court and may not take place.

Votes on Wal-Marts in Payson, a northern Arizona community, and Yuma, in the very southwestern corner of the state, have resulted in company victories.