Another big-box retailer could come to Buckhead. For now, it won't be Walmart.

"This application is now in the rear-view mirror," says Atlanta City Councilman Howard Shook.

Developer Jeff Fuqua can still make a play for the same property after having his plans rejected on Monday, but the new plan would have to be significantly different.

"With the economy maybe starting to go from red to yellow now," says Shook, "we will see if anyone else is ready to jump in and try to make a play for that strategically-located property."

Fuqua's intention was to build a mixed-use development that included a Walmart near the Lindbergh MARTA station. The Atlanta City Council voted in favor of the rezoning plan, 7-6, short of the three-fifths majority of support needed to move the plan forward.

Shook says many of his constituents simply opposed having a Walmart in the area, but it would have been against Georgia law to vote against it based on the Walmart brand.

"Most people -- and I agreed -- felt that from a planning and land-use perspective," Shook tells News/Talk WSB, "what we need is more residential density in that node."

However, Shook admits the Zoning Review Board heavily approved the plan to change a zone of high-density residential space into a mixed-use development.

"I figured it was going to be a very close vote," says Shook.