Developer sues Edmond for second time after Walmart plans rejected again

EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) — A developer has filed a new lawsuit against the City of Edmond after the city council once again rejected plans to build a Walmart at Covell and Coltrane, the latest turn in a fight that has stretched for a decade and drawn strong opposition from neighbors and city leaders.

For the second time in 10 years, the developer is suing the city, arguing the council had no right to vote the project down.

Right now, the land at Covell and Coltrane is an empty lot, overgrown with weeds.

But for a decade, the owner has tried to build a Walmart Neighborhood Market there — a plan that has faced pushback from neighbors and city leaders.

“We traveled through Oklahoma and Edmond felt like home,” said Jesse Kang, who moved from Wisconsin three months ago. “The community, the schools, the neighborhood. We fell in love with everything here.”

Kang said he especially valued the greenbelt behind his backyard until he learned a Walmart could be built there.

“All that nice green belt in the back. And we thought, you know, hey, this is going to stay. Until like literally a month later, we found out. No, apparently not. Are we going to have to be looking out our fence facing a Walmart building?” Kang said.

Concerns date back to 2015, when the developer first filed plans.

Neighbors then said the area’s outdated roads couldn’t handle it, and that a big box store didn’t fit the residential character of the neighborhood.

The city council agreed at the time, voting to deny the project.

But the land has been zoned for commercial development since the 1990s.

So, the developer sued, arguing the plans met all zoning requirements.

State courts ruled in 2016 and 2017 that the project complied with city zoning rules.

The developer refiled the plans and returned to council for a vote in July.

But the council again voted to reject them.

“We were pleased the city sided with all the residents here,” Kang said.

This week, the developer filed another lawsuit against the city, saying repeated denials of legally allowed development plans amount to the city taking the property without just compensation.

The lawsuit asks the court to force the city to allow the project to move forward.

The city declined to comment to News 4 Friday, citing pending litigation.

“Hopefully it gets tossed out,” Kang said.

Kang is hoping for some sort of compromise.

“It’s not we are not against any development,” Kang said. “We don’t need another grocery store here. And we are hoping that, you know, the developer will turn around and, well, might consider some other commercial options instead.”

News 4 also reached out to the developer’s attorneys but did not receive a response.