Neighboring Highland officials recently decided to create a commercial- retail zone on Alpine Highway, and Alpine officials are considering adding a similar zone, but Hildebrandt said he doesn't think the three closely situated cities will have a commercial conflict.

"I think there's enough for Highland and Alpine to have commercial in their areas, too," Hildebrandt said.

Because plans are still in early stages, the city has not yet discussed with the store its hours of operation, whether it can be open on Sunday or whether alcohol can be sold.

In 2005, a group of residents in the city asked city officials to ban the sale of alcohol within the city's limits. The initiative to ban alcohol was put to public vote and defeated, but Smith's, which had petitioned to open a store in the city, decided not to come anyway.

Some say previous opposition to establishments that function on Sunday and sell alcohol was so fierce it was enough to run any store out of town, according to postings on the town's public forum, www.cedarhillsforum.org. But city officials don't think the same uproar will occur this time, although those details are yet to be determined.

"I think our community's moved beyond it," Perry said. "We had the vote and moved on. It hasn't come up in any way in the city in a long time."

City officials say plans for the Wal-Mart might be presented to the Planning Commission for the first time on Jan. 25, but it depends on the store. Throughout the approval process, the public is invited to attend city meetings and may make comments during the public comment period.

Meanwhile, city leaders are looking forward to the potential of having an increased amount of sales-tax revenue flowing back to the city, although they're not sure how much it will be.

"We feel really excited," Hildebrandt said. "It's not every day that the No. 1 retailer walks through your door. We think we have a great community, but we're somewhat surprised that we're chosen by them to be where they want to develop. We're surprised and happy."

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E-mail: achoate@desnews.com