Westminster – Barely five minutes after the City Council took a huge step toward approving a controversial Wal-Mart early Tuesday, leaders of the hundreds of residents opposed to the project huddled outside the chambers to talk strategy.
The group said it will launch a petition drive to put the issue on the November ballot. And it will start another drive to get council members recalled.
“This fall, you will see a new City Council that listens to the citizens of Westminster,” said Dino Valente, an opposition leader.
Suddenly, the three women and four men on the City Council have found themselves at the center of a fire storm over their handling of two proposed Wal-Marts. One was approved two weeks ago, and the other was given preliminary approval Tuesday after hours of public testimony.
Mayor Nancy McNally said she isn’t afraid of a recall campaign.
“I think we’ve done a good job, and I think we’ll continue to do a good job,” she said.
After a five-hour public hearing that lasted into Tuesday morning, the City Council voted 6-1 to allow a Wal-Mart Supercenter to go into an old shopping center at West 72nd Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard. About 500 residents – who have been working for months on this campaign with the assistance of local anti-Wal-Mart crusader Dave Minshall – showed up to protest the proposal.
The council must still approve the project on second reading next month.
Several council members said they approved the store because it fits with the city’s comprehensive plan, meets the city’s development requirements and revitalizes the shopping center.
“We need to take advantage of this opportunity and redevelop this land,” said Councilman Chris Dittman. “We can’t continue to wait for somebody else to come along. This is not bowing down to the big, powerful Wal- Mart.”
Wal-Mart is confident that Tuesday’s vote means it will break ground on the store by the end of the year. Mike Ciletti, a local consultant for Wal-Mart, said the retailer isn’t discouraged by talk of putting the store on the ballot.
“If the residents choose to go that route, certainly we’ll be on the side of the City Council in opposing that vote,” he said.
This is not the only ongoing Wal-Mart skirmish in Westminster. The City Council voted to approve a Wal-Mart Supercenter near 136th Avenue and Interstate 25 on June 13, and residents there also are working on a recall campaign, said Bev Wheeler, an organizer of Wal- Mart foes in the neighborhood.
In addition, residents there are poring over transcripts of the June 13 council meeting, looking for evidence that the council may have violated its rules and questioning whether they have legal options to stop Wal-Mart from moving next door.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
