Locals to Appeal Judge's 250,000-SF Wal-Mart OK

ORLANDO-Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has won a major battle but not necessarily the war with local environmentalists who oppose the Bentonville, AR-based retailer’s plans to build a 250,000-sf supercenter among 200-year-old oak trees in West New Smyrna Beach, FL, located 40 miles northeast of Downtown Orlando.

The Corridor 44 Civic Association plans to appeal Volusia Circuit Court Judge Edwin P.B. Sanders’ ruling to the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach, FL.

The activists’ main argument will center on the retailer’s plans to build the estimated $12.5 million store among 200-year-old oak trees and other endangered botanical species and wildlife on State Road 44, one mile from an existing Wal-Mart.