After four years of battling back and forth with nearby homeowners, Wal-Mart is abandoning plans for a superstore on Ga. 141 in Forsyth County.

Company officials said the decision was part of a bigger business strategy, but those who had fought the retailer's plans consider it a victory.

"The little people won out, so to speak," said Lauren Simon, a nearby resident and early opponent.

Simon and other neighbors had argued since 2004 that a Wal-Mart Supercenter was the wrong development for the stretch of Ga. 141 that lies between the Bridle Ridge and Laurel Springs subdivisions. They complained that a big-box store would only add to traffic congestion in the area and be out of place among residential housing.

For their part, Wal-Mart officials said they pulled the plug on the proposed store as part of a plan that was announced in 2007 to more strategically prioritize development of their supercenters.

Just last week, the company announced it was scrapping plans for a 176,000-square-foot supercenter at the corner of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth.

Forsyth County Commissioner Brian Tam said a Wal-Mart "was just not an appropriate development in that spot" on Ga. 141.

"I think it's just best for all involved that they [Wal-Mart] move on," Tam said. He said the stretch of Ga. 141 where the retailer wanted to build is best suited for a mixed development that can have an adequate buffer, separating it from the subdivisions.

The fight with Wal-Mart energized some nearby homeowners to form the development watchdog group Smart Growth Forsyth.

In February, a 3-2 majority of the Forsyth County Commission ruled with Smart Growth, overturning a decision last May by the county Zoning Board of Appeals that would have allowed Wal-Mart to build a 175,000-square-foot store and obtain a stream buffer variance.

At that time, Glen Wilkins, Wal-Mart senior manager of public affairs for Georgia, said the plan was to move forward on a 170,000-foot store, with a 15-foot wall that protects the stream and a bridge that allows customers to cross the stream and enter the store.