The City of Wimberley will host a public meeting at the Community Center February 22, so that a developer for Tractor Supply Company (TSC) can present a proposal for a new store, to be located on a private property just south of the South River Business Park, off RR 12.

Citizens Alliance for Responsible Development (CARD) urges you to attend to learn the details of the proposal, and then to let city officials know where you stand on the store.

The presentation is not actually by Tractor Supply Company, but by a developer who finds sites, and promotes and builds stores that it then leases to TSC. This is standard operating procedure for TSC stores, according to Wimberley city officials.

Both the Wimberley Planning and Zoning Commission and the Wimberley City Council are expected to attend the meeting, but City Administrator Don Ferguson said the meeting’s intended audience is the people of Wimberley.

Some store owners in Wimberley have already voiced, publicly or privately, concern that the store would be damaging to their businesses. TSC, which already has stores in San Marcos, Kyle, Dripping Springs and Buda, deals in agricultural supplies, workwear, and garden supplies. It would be direct competition to King Feed, Ace Hardware, Cragg’s Do It Best and Wimberley Feed and Pet Supply, and to other businesses to some degree.

The TSC developer’s presentation precedes its expected presentations in mid-March, first to the Planning and Zoning Commission, followed by a presentation to Wimberley City Council the following week. Wimberley citizens can also attend both those regular meetings.

CARD suggests that you attend the February 22 meeting to better understand the proposal and to have your opinion, whatever it is, heard sooner rather than too late.

The developer has already had meetings with Ferguson and Wimberley Mayor Mac McCullough. The mayor has made no secret in the press and in City Council statements that he is very opposed to the proposal, particularly at the current proposed location.

The developer has, reports say, made some style changes to make the store visually more acceptable to the area than a standard TSC building, for example, using stone on the exterior. The TSC store would be 19,000 square feet. At least three stores in Wimberley are larger, Ace (25,000 sq. feet), Brookshire Brothers (40,000) and H.E.B (45,000), but no store located south of the river is in this size range. City officials say this store appears to violate the City’s building and zoning regulations.

Among the reasons for opposition mentioned by the mayor and others are: traffic congestion and increased danger from stopping and turning traffic on the RR 12 curve where the store is proposed; the inappropriately large size of the store for that area; the financial risk for established Wimberley businesses; and the look of a large building and parking area in a scenic location along the main entry way into the city.

Another voiced concern is the precedent that will be set if the city’s governing bodies allow the major regulation variances that would be required to allow a large box store on the main entry corridor. Wimberley – in response to citizen input – created a Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinances and has worked hard to avoid inappropriate developments. Any variance is likely to be viewed as a major opening for similar and larger endeavors.

The TSC website, www.tractorsupply.com, welcomes comments. To email your comments to TSC, click the help icon at the upper right side of the Home page to access the Contact Customer Solutions page.

You can also write to the Board of Directors at:

TSC Board of Directors
Tractor Supply Company
c/o Corporate Secretary
5401 Virginia Way
Brentwood, TN 37027

City Council will welcome your opinion on the proposed TSC store.

CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Mayor – Mac McCullough. mayor@cityofwimberley.com
Place 1 – Bob Dussler. Place1@cityofwimberley.com
Place 2 – Craig Fore. Place2@cityofwimberley.com
Place 3 – Sally Trapp. Place3@cityofwimberley.com
Place 4 – Gary Barchfeld. Place4@cityofwimberley.com
Place 5 – John White. Place5@cityofwimberley.com

CARD Steering Committee

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