DEL VALLE, Texas -- Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza held a community forum on Saturday for Del Valle residents to help get feedback on the best strategies to encourage a grocer to open in the area.
- Community forum held Saturday
- Residents seeking to get grocery store in area
- Population density under demand threshold
Lorrie Sharp has lived in Del Valle for 23 years. She often plans her day around grocery shopping, either going after work or early in the morning on Saturdays to avoid traffic.
"When you've worked all day and you're getting off work and you're having to focus on going to a grocery store to pick up groceries then coming home with all the other things you have to do," said Sharp.
Tony Maldonado typically drives to Bastrop for his needs.
"[It] makes more sense to travel to Bastrop because you can make that trip more efficiently when it comes to time and not having to be delayed because of the high density of traffic," said Maldonado.
H-E-B purchased property near the airport three years ago, but has no timeline for when a store may open. Garza said the business hasn't moved forward because the population density in Del Valle doesn't meet their threshold yet.
"To them it's all about, 'There is not enough rooftops,'" said Garza.
Garza is now exploring incentive options for H-E-B or another grocer, which could include expediting permitting for housing developments in the area and tax breaks.
"There's different deals that can be made, different packages that can be offered. We just wanted to make sure we understood exactly what the community is looking for," she said.
Garza will take the feedback from the meeting to the city for evaluation, discuss with a consultant, and begin speaking with grocers on their options.