Planning board approves Walmart lighting variances to brighten EV and pickup areas

Wesley Hevia, outside counsel for Walmart, told the Pembroke Pines Planning & Zoning Board on Feb. 12 that the company seeks two narrow variances to adjust lighting around its 12800 Pines Boulevard store. He said the requests apply only to two activated areas — online pickup/delivery spaces and electric-vehicle charging stations — and are intended to match existing bright-white lighting and improve safety for customers and staff.

Hevia described the technical change, saying, "For the foot candles, we're requesting to go up to 15.8 where the code today allows 12," and added that the request for color temperature seeks "to go towards a brighter white" to avoid a multicolor parking lot. He said the proposal would produce localized peak brightness near poles but that the blended average would remain below code (the presentation stated an approximate blended average of about 8 foot-candles in the EV area and a peak of 15.8 at light poles).

Board members asked for specifics about new equipment. Hevia said the plan adds one new light pole at the EV area and new light heads on three existing poles for the pickup rows; he explained the changes were limited to those areas and not the entire lot. He also confirmed the EV stations are expected to remain publicly accessible and said developers and staff could work on circuit programming if the board wanted brighter fixtures off overnight.

Member Goldich moved to approve the variances; the motion was seconded and the board recorded the approvals. After the vote Wesley Hevia thanked the board and departed.

Why it matters: The variances were framed as safety- and operations-focused changes tied to Walmart’s national rollout of online pickup and EV charging. The board limited the relief to the two specified areas rather than changing lighting across the entire parking lot.

What’s next: Implementation details — the final fixture locations, programming and any overnight lighting protocols — will be handled by the applicant and city engineering as part of permit and site-work coordination.