Planning commission approves Walmart online grocery pickup expansion, waives parking requirement

Pocomoke City’s Planning Commission unanimously approved a site plan to add a 2,603-square-foot building to the rear of the Walmart at 2132 Old Tenochdale Road to accommodate an online grocery pickup operation and a reconfiguration and restriping of the parking lot.

The plan, presented by Dan Brando, Pocomoke City planning director, and Steve Portionado, civil engineer with BOLR Engineering, keeps stormwater ponds and most utilities in place while relocating the store’s pickup operations to a dedicated area at the back of the building. “This application is to review a site plan for the Walmart expansion and remodeling plans that are submitted,” Brando said during the commission meeting. Portionado said the company intends to retrofit the site consistent with similar Walmart projects and that the addition and restriping will increase dedicated pickup stalls in the rear to 29 spaces.

Staff told the commission the project would result in a net loss of about 18 parking spaces but recommended waiving new parking requirements because the overall lot is substantially underused. Brando said staff asked the applicant to evaluate sewer impacts and that the plans address grease-trap issues that have sometimes clogged the force-main pump in the area.

Portionado said the project involves less than 5,000 square feet of disturbance, will not increase impervious surface or touch existing stormwater ponds, and will relocate the grease trap in the expansion area. “There will now be 29 pickup spaces, in their own dedicated area that’s restriped,” Portionado said, describing the move of pickup functions from the storefront to the new rear building.

Commissioners asked about county shuttle access and storage containers near the building; Portionado and staff said the shuttle stop is not expected to be affected by the restriping and that decisions about on-site storage containers are up to the store manager. Commissioners also confirmed tractor-trailer movements would remain possible around the building.

A motion to approve the site plan carried unanimously. The commission noted that building permits for the addition and other construction will be processed separately and that the site-plan approval covers the layout, access, and restriping described in the submitted drawings.

The commission’s approval authorizes the applicant to proceed to the permitting stage; staff and the applicant will coordinate on utility locates and on any required building permits.