Petition to repeal Walmart rezoning certified

After a minor speed bump, a referendum petition seeking to overturn a Springfield City Council decision regarding rezoning land for a Walmart Neighborhood Market has been certified.

The city clerk's office certified 1,808 signatures out of the roughly 2,600 submitted. The petition requird 1,787 valid signatures, equating to 10 percent of the registered voters who participated in the last general municipal election.

The petitioners - a coalition comprising members of Stand up to Wal-Mart, Citizens Advocating for Responsible Development, Stop the Neighborhood Market Project, Save Calvary, area residents and university students - originally submitted the petition March 25, but it fell short by 43 required signatures after the clerk's office completed certifying the petion April 5. The petitioners were given 10 additional days to collect signatures, and submitted an additional 281 on April 15, according to a news release.

The petition forces the issue back before council, who can vote to repeal the zoning change or send it before voters in August at an estimated cost of $80,000 to $100,000.

By a 5-4 vote on Feb. 25, council approved Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s request to rezone roughly 6 acres at 444 W. Grand St. and 427–515 W. Normal St. to general retail from a residential district. The rezoning would make way for a 41,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market store.

The proposed repeal is scheduled for a public hearing at council's May 6 meeting and for a second reading and vote at its May 20 meeting, the release said.