County Rejects Walmart Request to Build Oxon Hill Store

Parents opposed to plans by Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, to build a superstore in Oxon Hill have won a victory.

A Prince George’s County zoning authority has denied Walmart’s request to build a 100,000-square-foot store on 15 acres of vacant land adjacent to John Hanson Montessori School on Oxon Hill Road, reports The Washington Post.

Oxon Hill parents have been fighting the company’s plans since 2011, arguing the location would create safety issues for children who walk to schools in the area.

Because county ordinance limits the size of big-box stores with groceries to 85,000 square feet, Wal-Mart sought special permission to build a larger store. The company also asked the county to waive a requirement to have direct vehicular access to an existing arterial roadway. Instead the company wants the county to allow access via an internal street.

The project’s parking design would present safety hazards to students at John Hanson Montessori School and nearby Oxon Hill High School, said the county official who rejected Walmart’s request. Some students would have to cross two vehicular entrances into the proposed store, including one that would be used by trucks going to the loading dock area.

»Read the full Washington Post story here.