Grass-roots organizers can take much of the credit for persuading Monroeville council to reject a proposed Wal-Mart store. But even Hurricane Katrina played a role.

Opponents overcame Wal-Mart's impressive array of consultants, professional studies and offers of financial assistance to sway council. Looming over the deliberations were notions of stewardship of the land and governmental responsiveness to the public -- principles that have been brought to the fore by the disaster on the Gulf Coast.

In a vote just before midnight on Tuesday, council rejected Wal-Mart proposals 5-2.

Wal-Mart had asked council to rezone 21.6 acres, from industrial to commercial use, so it could build a 203,818-square-foot store on Broadway Boulevard, at the border of Pitcairn. It also needed approvals to combine lots into a 29-acre parcel and to implement its site plan.

The vote surprised many. Monroeville council has demonstrated sensitivity to public opposition to previous land developments. But it also has shown a willingness to vote for large developments despite overwhelming public opposition, as with the recent Haymaker Pointe townhouse project near the proposed Wal-Mart site.

The planning commission, which is often more strict than council, had recommended approval of Wal-Mart's project by a 3-2 vote.

The stakes in this proposal were even higher than previous developments, with the lures of tax revenues and jobs and the fears of traffic gridlock and withering competition.

Wal-Mart has coveted Monroeville for a store site for 10 years, according to Anthony Dolan, of Walnut Capital Development Corp., who was hired two years ago to shepherd the project.

He lined up consultants to prepare studies and convince public officials that the project was worthy. But Dolan, who lives in Monroeville, also invested his credibility.

His strategy was to engage the opposition, listening intently to every criticism and adjusting the plan. He offered creative solutions and money to fix problems, diffuse fears and demonstrate Wal-Mart's commitment to Monroeville and Pitcairn.

For example, the Pitcairn baseball association, emergency services and council were on record as being opposed to the store. But resigned to the likelihood that Wal-Mart would get its store, they had willingly given Dolan wish lists.

He pledged $35,000 to Pitcairn for a comprehensive plan, $50,000 for a transportation improvement district to study long-term solutions to traffic problems along the Route 130 corridor, $25,000 each to Pitcairn and Monroeville fire and ambulance.

Wal-Mart would replace sidewalks and curbs on Pitcairn's side of Broadway. It would build a parking lot, restrooms and a concession stand at the ball fields next to the store. It would dedicate the part of the fields owned by Delmar Leasing Corp. to Pitcairn.

Wal-Mart still wouldn't allow community groups to post signs in its stores, but it would give Pitcairn an electronic message board for community announcements.

Opponents to the project consist- ed of a loose coalition of neighbors on both sides of the border, merchants and Pitcairn public officials. They came out in force for four public meetings and circu- lated petitions. They also inundated council members with calls, buttonholed them on the street and dropped in at their homes.

Some were opposed to Wal-Mart in general because of perceived abuses by the world's largest, most powerful retailer. But many objected not to having a Wal-Mart in Monroeville but to having one at this location.

They feared that Wal-Mart would put Pitcairn's merchants out of business. They worried about the safety of children playing on the ball fields. They wanted to preserve the wetlands next to the creek. They didn't want more traffic on Route 130, a mostly two-lane highway that is the main east-west corridor in the Turtle Creek valley.

Their arguments were often more emotion than fact, but they had passion and local knowledge on their side. They didn't have a two-volume traffic study, but they knew how motorists taking shortcuts on side streets could paralyze an intersection.

About 60 residents attended Tuesday's meeting, and 20 spoke to council.

Marilyn Skolnick, of Monroeville, alluded to Hurricane Katrina when she urged council to preserve wetlands. Georgiana Woodhall, of Monroeville, asked council to restore the public's confidence in government. Pitcairn Councilman Fred Mendicino asked them not to wipe out the good Monroeville officials have done for Pitcairn over the years.

Monroeville Mayor James Lomeo departed from his usual practice of neutrally facilitating debate by commenting and asking questions that signaled his willingness to use the veto. Don't the concerns about the project, he asked, suggest that the existing zoning reflects the best use?

Councilman John Danzilli said he was amazed by the number of accommodations Wal-Mart was willing to make to Pitcairn and Monroeville.

Councilman Harold Katofsky wanted to know more about environmental impact and was disappointed that Wal-Mart proposed a long-term study instead of doing more to improve Route 130 at Haymaker and Forbes roads.

Councilman David Kucherer enumerated the pros and cons that he was wrestling with.

On the one hand, the store would generate a half million dollars a year in tax revenue. Wal-Mart would clean up a trashy property, and it would spend more money than any other developer on other community goals. Legally, he said, an owner has a right to develop his property as long as he follows the rules.

On the other hand, the locals would bear the brunt of extra traffic, and some of the tax revenues would be diverted to Pitcairn and other communities that have done little planning.

Councilman Abe Comunale said simply he wanted to support his neighbors.

After nearly four and a half hours of deliberations, council voted. Rick Buxter, Carol McDevitt, Comunale, Katofsky and Kucherer voted against Wal-Mart's requests. Mark Dale and Danzilli voted for them.

Dolan was ashen after the vote, and he declined to comment.