In a 3-2 decision, the board concluded Wednesday night that zoning codes and other city guidelines allow super-sized stores such as the one Wal-Mart plans to build.

"It's been zoned commercial for many years," board chairman John Eriksson said, leading the "yea" votes. "The City Council approved a 'commer- cial-very-high' in late 2003 and when they made that change, they found it to be in the best interest of the citizens of Centerville."

But Centerville resident Jan Hagen disagrees.

"They were mayor's appointees on the panel and they supported the mayor and not the citizens," Hagen said.

The board considered two items: a conditional use permit and a site plan. Both were sent back to the Planning Commission for "purposes limited to imposing mitigation," Eriksson said.

Wal-Mart officials were not available for comment. The company still has to put forth its proposal for subdividing the supercenter's 23-acre plot.

Board member Susan Brown argued that the city's general plan stated that residents desired to keep the community's suburban lifestyle and that traffic at nearby intersections would go from bad to worse.

"From what I understand, it is [the Utah Department of Transportation] who is responsible for mitigating, not Wal-Mart," she said. "How can we tell the Planning Commission to impose mitigation on them when it's out of their hands?"

Cory Snyder, the city planner, said December is the earliest the Planning Commission could address the conditions of Wal-Mart's conditional-use permit.

"Or, it could drag into January and the new year could start off with a bang," he said.

George Fisher, spokesman for Centerville Citizens First, says the organization has retained an attorney but has yet to decide whether to appeal the matter in court.

But Julie Orisor, who lives in a condominium complex directly behind the store's site, isn't waiting around.

"They keep saying our property values are going 'up, up, up' because Wal-Mart is coming," she said. "I'm selling."

lorib@sltrib.com