A plan to make way for a 150,000-square-foot Walmart store in south Buckhead was shoved back to a City Council committee on Monday.
The proposal would have changed the land use designation for a 22-acre site along Lindbergh Drive, Piedmont Road and Morosgo Drive from “high density residential” to “high density mixed use” and “very high density residential.” But the prospect of more big-box commercial development met with opposition among neighborhood activists who cited traffic and other concerns.
Neighborhood groups in Buckhead spent the weekend firing off emails to council members expressing their opposition to the massive rezoning project that would bring the the first Walmart to the area near the Lindbergh MARTA station, just behind the Home Depot, Target and Best Buy.
Area neighborhoods have formed a website called SaveLindbergh.org. The groups want the area to be used for more residential development and pedestrian traffic.
“This is about complying with the hard work that people have put in to ensure that Buckhead isn’t just another traffic pit,” Tom Shepherd of the Garden Hills Civic Association told Channel 2 Action News.
But other neighbors said they think the area needs a Walmart, and that additional commercial development will bring more businesses and jobs to the area.
“If they are opposed to Walmart, why aren’t they opposed to Target and Home Depot?” said neighbor Dave Henry, who also spoke to Channel 2. “I mean, if you don’t want to live in that type of neighborhood, then don’t move here.”
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