Residents adjacent to what is now a privately owned 35-acre field say they are concerned that the store s lighting, noise, traffic and trash will make their lives unbearable. They also question whether their property values will decrease, but their biggest gripe has been over drainage. Residents are searching for ways to block the construction or at the very least win concessions from Wal-Mart that might reduce the store s effects on their neighborhood. Asked whether residents have any legal or procedural basis for doing so, Pat Gordon, parish planning director, said the store s effect on traffic, drainage or sewerage could be grounds for the Parish Council or Planning and Zoning commissions to deny Wal-Mart s application to rezone what is now open land to general commercial. Swan Avenue, Norman Street and East Street have flooded even during the least-threatening storms.
Some residents remain skeptical of the pond.
Others question whether the benefit of reducing their flooding by a half-inch to an inch on rainy days is worth the cost of noise and traffic from the store. The proposed pond is four to five times larger than most such ditches behind major retail stores. It s a familiar battle for Wal-Mart, which will open about 200 new stores this year. Swan Avenue resident Mark Olivier has spearheaded the fight against the retail giant, organizing two community meetings to discuss the issue. He has spent hours sifting through parish codes, searching for ordinances that might give him and his neighbors a fighting chance when the Terrebonne Parish Planning and Zoning commissions meet to decide the matter beginning next week.