Lake Nona residents fight plan for new Walmart

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Residents in the Lake Nona area are fighting to keep a Walmart from going up in their backyard.

The Walmart is planned to be built on 50 acres off Narcoosee Road, just south of State Road 417.

Nearby residents said they're worried about an influx of traffic, and fear that the store may cause crime to spike in their neighborhood.

The Walmart will only be a portion of the upcoming Lake Nona Landing.

The store will employ 300 people, but some worry the potential for job growth isn’t worth it.

A Change.org petition called “Stop the Walmart in Lake Nona” has garnered 2,000 signatures, with many commenting about the potential for crime.

“There’s a Walmart that’s just a number of miles up the road there on Goldenrod,” said resident Dennis Rach.

Crime stats of a Walmart in Oviedo--built in 2012 in a neighborhood comparable to Lake Nona--show that between 2011 and the end of last month, deputies have responded 214 times.

Theft and shoplifting calls are huge chunk, but the up and down numbers show other crimes including robbery, burglary, aggravated assault and auto thefts.

Channel 9 reached out to Walmart for a comment.

The company sent a statement that read, in part, “Stores are located within 10 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population, and they invest in robust technologies and crime prevention efforts.”

Cox Media Group