Another Walmart-related lawsuit over the retailer’s plans to relocate from Fairlawn to Copley Township has been filed.The latest suit filed in Summit County Common Pleas Court is by two retail developments associated with Stark Enterprises and its partners. The plaintiffs claim county officials have violated an existing settlement agreement over future commercial development in the Montrose area.The suit filed by the West Market Plaza Limited Partnership and Montrose Retail Associates Limited Partnership names the Summit County Planning Commission, Summit County engineer and the Summit County executive. The plaintiffs are upset over the county’s initial approval of a plan by the retail giant to shutter its Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in the Rosemont Commons shopping center and move them about a mile west into Copley Township off Rothrock Road.They claim county officials reneged on an agreement reached two years ago to end a 2008 lawsuit over whether county officials neglected to effectively monitor and coordinate commercial development of the Montrose area.According to court records, an agreement was reached in late 2009 to address traffic concerns in the Montrose area and required that a traffic impact study be made before any area is further developed in Montrose, which roughly encompasses the state Route 18 corridor in Bath and Copley townships and Fairlawn.The agreement between the plaza owner and county officials specifies that “developments of a certain size [any proposed retail development anticipated to generate 100 new vehicle trips during any peak hour of the development] subject to the county’s jurisdiction and located in the Montrose area warrants a traffic impact study with a defined scope.”The proposed Walmart and Sam’s Club development calls for the construction of “approximately 288,000 square feet with over 1,400 parking spaces,” according to the lawsuit.“The proposed development represents the exact type of development that the settlement agreement was intended to address for which the agreed traffic impact study would be required,” the lawsuit asserts.Montrose Retail Associates owns and operates a shopping center that includes Office Max at the intersection of West Market Street and Cleveland-Massillon Road. The West Market Plaza group owns and operates a separate shopping center at the intersection of West Market Street and Cleveland-Massillon Road.Although Stark Enterprises is not named in the suit, it manages or owns the two shopping areas. Stark Enterprises also leases the present Walmart and Sam’s Club sites at Rosemont Commons, which is not a party to the suit.Tom FitzSimmons, who represents Stark Enterprises, said the initial lawsuit claimed the proposed development is in an already congested Montrose area and the then-county engineer intended to rely on a 1989 traffic study of the area to guide the county’s review of the proposed development. The latest lawsuit claims a more up-to-date and thorough traffic plan is needed before any more retail is allowed in the Montrose area. It contends the developer’s plan that was reviewed by the county was limited to the traffic impact on Rothrock Road and its intersection with Cleveland-Massillon Road, but did not consider the effect of traffic on West Market Street (state Route 18) and two interchanges with Interstate 77.The plaintiffs say the developer’s plan was approved without any consideration of the impact of the proposed development on traffic at the intersection of West Market Street and Cleveland-Massillon Road where the plaintiffs’ businesses are located.They also claim the developer’s plan was approved without taking into account the impact Fairlawn’s plans to restrict the flow of traffic on Rothrock Road to the Walmart site would have on traffic in the area. The road closure plans have also generated their own legal challenges.Developer Larry Levey, who is behind the Walmart proposal, said he challenged the enforceability of the agreement, and that matter is still pending.A status hearing on the latest lawsuit along with four other pending suits related to the development and Fairlawn’s plan to close Rothrock Road is scheduled for Nov. 18.Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.