Neighborhood Market at center of Bella Vista battle

Walmart is used to encountering opposition to its new stores, just not in its own backyard.



However, that is what’s been happening in the sprawling master planned community of Bella Vista, Ark., where residents, some of them anyway, are up in arms over a planned Walmart Neighborhood Market. They say the location of the proposed stores is a poor choice and the 24-hour store with four gas pumps will bring additional traffic to an already busy road.



Sound familiar? Walmart has been hearing similar complaints for decades, but what makes the outcry in Bella Vista noteworthy is the community’s proximity to Bentonville and the composition of its residents. Bella Vista and Bentonville are so close together both towns are included in the name of the local chamber of commerce. And the community’s proximity to Bentonville and neighboring Rogers ensures many of those who live there either work for Walmart, one of its suppliers or have some other type of connection to the company.



Nevertheless, judging from media reports in the area the planned Neighborhood market has made quite a stir. The City Wire reported on the details of the situation earlier this week.