The Thornton City Council decided early Wednesday morning to approve zoning for a new Wal-Mart store -- a move many residents in the area oppose.

Wal-Mart wants to build a supercenter on the 50-acre site at the southeast corner of the new Interstate 25 and 136th Avenue interchange, but council members had to rezone the area from a business park to planned development before the store could be built.

The homeowners in the neighborhood say the new store would increase traffic in the area far beyond what the roads can handle and are worried about the noise and the look of their community being ruined by an all-night discount superstore.

Even though more than 5,700 people signed a petition in six weeks in protest of the proposed Wal-Mart, the city approved of the plan.

They announced their decision after a long public meeting that ended at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"We're devastated. We feel betrayed by the city. We presented our arguments fairly and we feel like the city council made their decision before we even walked in there. They did not listen to us," said Joanne Flick, co-chair of the petitioning committee. "We are going to force this issue on a referendum and we are organizing as we speak. We are angry and are going to doing everything we can in our power to fight this."

The new Wal-Mart would generate more than $1 million a year in sales tax revenue for the city.

A spokesman for Wal-Mart said the new store will stand as a prototype of neighborhood-friendly Wal- Marts, with lights that won't glare into neighborhoods and a unique exterior that's made of stone, brick and stucco to match upscale homes that surround the lot and the nearby Thorncreek Municipal Golf Course.

Keith Morris, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the store will also limit truck deliveries and give the city more than eight acres in that area for open space, perhaps also building trails that connect the lot with the regional trail system.

Thornton homeowners are not the first to fight against having a Wal-Mart in their neighborhood. Earlier this month, Arvada residents won their fight at the Supreme Court and stopped the city from condemning part of a lake to make way for a Wal-Mart.