MILL CREEK - A hearing examiner has ordered Wal-Mart to study the potential environmental effects of building along 132nd Street SE, giving opponents of the new store a partial victory.
Neighbors in Mill Creek have generated more organized opposition to Wal-Mart in the past couple years than either Marysville or Arlington, where the retailer also plans to build. Lillian Kaufer, who hass helped to lead the fight, said the hearing examiner's decision was gratifying.
"This is what we asked for - a real study before this thing goes in," Kaufer said, adding that opponents are ready to keep the pressure on if Wal-Mart decides to appeal.
Claudia Newman, a Seattle lawyer representing store opponents, said the law isn't clear, however, on whether Wal-Mart can appeal the decision to the Snohomish County Council. She thinks the retailer will have no choice but to complete an environmental impact statement addressing the store's effects on the area, including how much traffic and noise it might generate.
County planning officials didn't require such a study when they initially gave the project environmental approval.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman couldn't be reached for comment Monday.
The Mill Creek decision is one of few victories Wal-Mart opponents can claim locally.
A Snohomish County Superior Court judge rejected opponents' arguments against a store at the corner of Highway 9 and 64th Street NE in southeast Marysville. That decision hasn't been appealed, but Newman said opponents are watching carefully to make sure Wal-Mart meets all the permit requirements there as it moves closer to construction.
In Arlington, opponents are asking a judge to reject the city's decision to allow a new Wal-Mart supercenter along 172nd Street NE. That case is pending.