Edmond planning commission reviews Walmart site plan amid strong neighborhood opposition; no final vote recorded

A proposed 44,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market for a roughly 9.6-acre site at the northwest corner of Covell Road and Coltrane Avenue drew extended public comment during a Planning Commission public hearing, and the commission did not record a final, binding vote on the site-plan application (SP250008) at the meeting.

The proposal, presented by David Box on behalf of the applicant, would use an E-2 Open Display Commercial PUD titled Ashford Oaks and shows a 27-foot-high masonry building, two driveways (one on Covell, one on Coltrane) and on-site detention. City staff recommended approval, pending engineering details. Box told the commission the site plan conforms to the PUD and applicable development rules and argued the commission’s role is ministerial when objective standards are met: “Site plan review is ministerial” (David Box, applicant representative).

Neighbors and neighborhood leaders urged denial or further study. Barry Black, president of the Ashford Oaks Homeowners Association, summarized a recurring concern: “How can we approve a plan if we don’t know what it’s gonna do to this unique and critical intersection?” (Barry Black, Ashford Oaks HOA president). Speakers cited: repeated congestion at the…