The Florence City Council voted to send a district reapportionment plan to the Justice Department with only one dissenting comment, and established the Cemetery Rehabilitation Committee without so much as a peep Tuesday.

But there was plenty to be heard from opponents of a proposed Walmart store in the northwest corner of town.

Coy Bramlett, spokesman for CAUS — Citizens Against Urban Sprawl — said someone has been pulling up the group's signs, many of which are on private property.

He also said that, to date, almost 900 people have signed petitions in opposition to Walmart being built on Cloverdale Road, just north of Cox Creek Parkway.

Most of the CAUS members live near the proposed building site.

Bramlett described his son watching two men in a beat-up pickup pulling a sign out of his front yard, and neighbors reporting a truck running over signs in their yards.

"Is this the customer base we want?" he asked during the council's meeting.

"Maybe you guys should check on crimes committed at Walmarts."

Others said they are concerned about pollution from petroleum and chemical runoff from the parking lot into nearby creeks, lack of privacy and the dangers posed by increased traffic volume around the surrounding neighborhoods and schools.

Bill Innskeep said he has done research on the Internet about crime statistics related to Walmart stores, and called the information startling.

"A lot of crime comes with Walmart," he said. "Google it."

Jim Favenesi asked council members to imagine what they want Florence to look like in 50 years as they make a decision on whether to grant final approval for the project.

"Do you want Cox Creek Parkway to be a strip mall from Huntsville Road to Savannah Highway?" he asked.

Several council members said they have not made a decision about whether to approve construction, and are still gathering information. Several also assured residents that, contrary to rumor, the new Walmart is not a done deal.

Councilman Hermon Graham said the present Walmart in Florence generates 10 percent of the city's general fund. "That's pretty substantial."

"I disagree with you about the devaluation of property" near big box stores, Graham said. "Developers will build where the traffic is, close to schools and shopping. I can walk to Lowe's and Cracker Barrel from my house, and it is worth more now than it was 15 years ago."

The council, along with the city Planning Commission, is waiting for a traffic study to be completed and reviewed before making a final decision about a second Walmart in Florence.

The study is not expected to be available for review for several weeks.