Lady Lake commissioners rendered a split decision Wednesday night on the emotional battle over a proposed Walmart and the historic trees standing in its way.
The commissioners voted 3-2 to deny Walmart’s proposal to remove the trees to make way for the store to be built at the corner of County Road 466 and Cherry Lake Road.
It was an emotional meeting which pitted the proposal for the new Walmart against the lives of the majestic trees which are about 200 years old.
The store would be 60,724 square feet on 20.43 acres.
The representatives for Walmart indicated a willingness to save more of the trees than originally proposed. They also described the difficulty of balancing the site to save the trees, navigate the easement for the Duke Energy power lines and provide for sufficient retention basins for stormwater management.
Lady Lake resident Richard Masso said Walmart should have seen what they would be getting into at the property.
He said the “complaints” about the Duke Energy power lines and the trees were ridiculous.
“They knew that was there way before they planned this,” Masso said.
He said he was in Miami for 60 years and witnessed the hyper-develoment before retreating to Lady Lake, proud of its Tree City USA designation.
“I moved to Lady Lake because it was a nice small town. Do we really need another Walmart?” he asked.
Lady Lake commissioners pressed the Walmart representatives on the layout of the site and asked for changes that could save more trees.
After more than two hours of debate and discussion, Dan Moyer of CASTO development’s Sarasota office, was clearly frustrated.
He said the changes would be “hard to swallow.” He also complained that it is difficult to persuade Walmart to make adjustments.
Moyer pointed out that he had first presented the idea of a Walmart at that location a year ago. He acknowledged that three new commissioners are now in office and weren’t in office one year ago.
However, Mayor Ed Freeman was in office a year ago and at the time urged the Walmart developers to come up with a little “creativity” in an effort to spare the trees. Freeman noted that 12 months passed and the creativity never materialized.
The mayor was joined by Commissioners Mike Sage and Ed Regan in voting against Walmart’s plan to cut down the trees. Commissioners Treva Roberts and John Gourlie supported the plan to remove the trees.