WINFIELD, W.Va. — The five-member Putnam County Board of Zoning Appeals expects to make a long-awaited decision Thursday night on whether to allow a special use permit for a Walmart Neighborhood Market on Route 34 in Teays Valley.
The BZA previously deferred the decision to its next meeting on June 16, when testimony from Bencor, Inc., who hopes to build the Walmart, and “Keep the Promise Coalition,” a residents group who opposes it, went longer than four hours.
A faction of residents in the area have opposed the Walmart for several months, fearing traffic congestion, and wanting to keep the zoning laws as is. Representatives of Walmart claim that the approximately 43,000 square foot food store would serve the community, and would be much smaller than the retail giants popular supercenters.
After the large volume of information presented by both sides on June 16, BZA President Stephen Sluss was the deciding factor in a 3-2 vote against a motion to decide on the special use permit that night.
Sluss has said that no new information will be presented Thursday night, all deliberations will be public and the meeting should be shorter than the previous one. The burden of proof is on Walmart to show eight different criteria to earn the permit for the store.
The Walmart permit will once again be the first item on the agenda at the BZA meeting tomorrow night, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Putnam County Courthouse in Winfield.
Last month’s hearing packed the old courtroom at the courthouse. Tomorrow’s decision from the BZA will not be final; an appeals process is expected whichever way the ruling goes.