California Site Fight: Wal-Mart Plan Submitted

Wal-mart submits plan [Paradise Post]

Wal-Mart has submitted its application to develop retail stores on the vacant property on Skyway west of its intersection with the Skyway crossroad to the Town of Paradise.

Town staff, in reviewing the application, is likely to determine it is incomplete according to Assistant Community Development Director Craig Baker. The town received the application on Nov. 14 and about a week later the Community Development Department sent the packet of information to several town departments including engineering, onsite, police, fire, the Paradise Irrigation District, LAFCO, Butte County Development Services, PG&E, business and housing, the assistant town manager, the projects coordinator, and the Town Council. Baker said California state law allows for a 30-day review process.

Even though the application is still in the review process Baker said he can determine the application is incomplete. Next week the town will submit a letter to Wal-Mart stating the incompletion of the project and requesting additional information, according to Baker. Baker noted the fact that the application is incomplete is a common occurrence in projects of this size. The specifics of the additional information will be derived from the departments that reviewed the application, he said.

In the application Wal-Mart requested a use permit, general plan amendment, property pre-zone, annexation and a tentative subdivision map approval of the 50-acre vacant property with an approximately 316,000 square
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foot retail development project. The proposed project includes a description of the retail center including a 190,000 square foot Wal-Mart along with approximately 265,000 to 288,000 square feet assigned to retail, restaurant, office, hotel space and a gas station.

In addition, 29 acres will remain as an agricultural and open space environment and include a scenic overlook and a wastewater treatment facility. The proposition of a Skyway Plaza Center on the property was approved by the town in 2003 and approved by a public vote in 2004.

“The town and voters supported it pretty convincingly when it first was approved,” Baker said. “I don’t have a reason to believe that support has wavered.”

Wal-Mart first submitted a preliminary development review on Aug. 6, the application is their second step, he said.

Baker said even if the town approves the next application, it could be on a conditional base. The application states that it could take up to 15 years for the retail center to be completed, but the first of the two phases would be completed in the first five years.

Wal-Mart gives a long time frame because of the many unknown factors that could occur during the completion process, like the state of the economy or the difficulty of finding other retail stores that want to open in the center, he said.

Baker said there was one group, Save Our Gateway, opposing Wal-Mart when it was first presented, but he is unsure of their motive.

“There are ups and downs to every project,” he said. “There’s no perfect project just have to make sure the town’s needs are met.”

Wal-Mart’s application describes the social and economic benefits to Paradise which include approximately $30-50 million in new building and infrastructure construction, creation of wage and benefits for up to 350 full and part-time jobs, and sales tax revenue for the town. Additionally, the project will reduce traffic trips of residents and provide another 100 jobs through stores and restaurants. The application also states Wal-Mart saves an average household more than $2,500 per year and a typical Wal-Mart Supercenter raises or gives $30,000 to $50,000 a year to local charities.

The environmental goals include a supply of 100 percent renewable energy, the creation of zero waste and selling products that sustain resources and the environment.