After four years and at least one false start, Wal-Mart appears to be coming to Cedar Hills.

At 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday, council members voted unanimously in favor of the company's preliminary plan for the store, although they attached at least three pages of caveats to their vote. Those caveats include requiring Wal-Mart to ask the city for special permission for any outdoor seasonal sales, and requiring the company to help pay for speed bumps on nearby roads.

Wal-Mart representatives said they have some concerns with the caveats and needed time to "digest" the requirements imposed by the city. When asked if the caveats would keep Wal-Mart from building the store, Shell MacPherson of PacLand, the development company representing Wal-Mart, first said that was unclear but later said "Overall, I feel positive" about the future of the store.

MacPherson said he was concerned about a city requirement that Wal-Mart do a traffic study after the Cedar Hill store is completed, and he said the city-imposed noise requirements were unclear. He also said he was concerned about requirements that outdoor compressors could not face residential neighborhoods.

The Planning Commission and City Council must still approve a final plan for the Wal-Mart store, but approval of the preliminary plan means the city must allow the store as long as the final plan follows the preliminary plan. The store still faces opposition from some residents, though.

Before reading aloud four pages of caveats, which were eventually reduced somewhat before the vote, Councilman Eric Richardson said approving the store was "neither fun nor simple."

Councilman Jim Perry said the city had put months of work into the approval and caveats and apologized for any anger he had shown in past meetings on the issue. Council members had broken into an argument over the store at 1 a.m. two weeks before.

"At times emotions flare and for my part in that I apologize," he said. "I do appreciate all the concerns of all of the residents. There is no way to pretend it (the store) is going to have no impact, because it will."

For perhaps the first time since Wal-Mart originally proposed a store in Cedar Hills in 2003, a group of residents organized themselves on Tuesday night to show support for the store. Dozens of people wore buttons and stickers supporting the store. Resident Jena Hancock said she spearheaded the effort, contacting Wal-Mart to provide the buttons and stickers.

In a public hearing on Tuesday night lasting 90 minutes, about 30 residents spoke, the majority in support of the store. Hancock told council members the store would benefit residents and a decision had been delayed long enough.

"Please make this a reality tonight," she said.

Several other residents said Wal-Mart had "bent over backwards" to accommodate the city and the city must make a decision before "running off" the store. Residents opposing the store said it would be too large, too noisy, bring too much traffic, ruin the small-town feel of the city, and potentially endanger children walking to school. They also said Wal-Mart business practices reflect a lack of ethics and integrity that the city should not support.

Speaking to the council and gathered residents before the vote, MacPherson asked for support for the project.

"We believe this development will offer economic vitality to this city and with the success of Wal-Mart other success will follow, but we cannot succeed without the support of the city," he said. "The store we are proposing for Cedar Hills is a community center. This store will be one-of-a-kind and unique to the city and will offer customer convenience and one-stop shopping."

The store is 25,000 square feet smaller than the plan that Wal-Mart presented to the city in 2003, MacPherson said. The company ultimately withdrew the 2003 proposal after meeting resistance from residents.

Before Tuesday's vote, council members listened to two hours of testimony from experts hired by Wal-Mart about how much noise and traffic the store would generate. The store will be located on an 18-acre parcel near Lone Peak High School zoned for commercial development for 22 years, according to city officials.

The store will hire about 300 employees in part-time and full-time positions, MacPherson said.

In the plan approved on Tuesday, one acre in the northeast corner of the 18-acre site will be used for storm water drainage and turned into a park, which Wal-Mart is negotiating to give to the city, MacPherson said. The supercenter will have groceries, general merchandise and a garden center but not a tire and lube center.

The supercenter, its landscaping and 591 parking spaces will take up 14 of the 18 acres at the site, with three sites for small businesses to come later. Twelve- to 14-foot trees will be planted around the 132,000-square-foot building.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C1.