FIRM OPPOSITION TO NEW WAL-MART in REDLANDS, CA

Idea of new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Redlands raises concerns [Press Enterprise (Calif.)]

If all the pieces fall into place, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. could open a new Supercenter in north Redlands by 2010.

Longtime San Bernardino Wal-Mart shopper John Gibson plans to be among the first to visit the 215,000-square-foot store stocked with 150,000 items and featuring a full-service supermarket. Gibson talked during a recent visit to Redlands’ 17-year-old Wal-Mart at 2050 W. Redlands Blvd.

Opponents, on the other hand, say the project will result in increased traffic in the area and harm existing mom-and-pop stores, among other concerns.

“Why can’t the great Wal-Mart remodel the (store) we now have?” asked Redlands resident Robby Robinson. “If they sell the (existing) store, who’s going to buy it? Some swap-meet outfit like the one in San Bernardino? That should make Redlands look good.”

A battle could be brewing despite the fact that the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer has yet to submit an application to build the new Supercenter in Redlands. But there’s no doubt Wal-Mart is interested in a 40-acre tract at the southeast corner of Tennessee Street and San Bernardino Avenue.

Wal-Mart recently agreed to pay $450,000 for an environmental impact study on the property, according to an amended agreement approved at Redlands City Council’s most recent meeting.

Prime Location

“There’s an old saying in real estate: location, location, location,” John Mendez, Wal-Mart spokesman for Southern California, said about the proposed site. “Essentially, this location will allow Wal-Mart to best serve our customers throughout the region.”

The Supercenter would be built just west of State Route 30, not far from Redlands Unified School District’s new Citrus Valley High School. The site is just north of bustling Citrus Plaza, where Target, Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond and restaurants such as Red Robin and Famous Dave’s Barbecue draw crowds.

Not far from Wal-Mart’s site, new homes are sprouting up where agricultural fields once stood. Developer Beazer Homes’ Redlands Village, for instance, offers 2,378- to 3,490-square-foot homes with four to six bedrooms starting at about $395,000.

The Supercenter is part of the Redlands Crossing shopping center project, which must first pass environmental tests gauging everything from greenhouse gases and energy conservation measures to water supply, said Jason Brandman, vice president of San Bernardino-based Michael Brandman Associates, a partner in the shopping center venture.

Mendez said the commercial project gives Wal-Mart shoppers a new store with more inventory, checkout lanes and wider aisles. Those features are what help attract customers to Supercenters, Mendez said.

“Tens of thousands of residents vote with their pocketbooks,” Mendez said.

Mendez said Redlands would also benefit from the new store, with about 150 new jobs, the purchase of materials locally during construction and street improvements.

Opponents such as Redlands resident Deborah McFatter have asked city officials to reject the Supercenter because it will likely mean the disappearance of mom-and-pop shops that have contributed for decades to the area’s quality of life.

“My concerns include the impact that a one-stop, megastore will have on local businesses, the rise in crime, the light pollution of having a 24/7 business, the traffic clogging our streets, the track record of monies not remaining in our local economy but ending up in Bentonville, Ark.,” McFatter said.

Effect on Downtown Stores

Mendez pointed out, however, that Wal-Mart has given more than $500,000 in local grants to nonprofits, schools and law enforcement. The retailer has donated hundreds of bicycles to Redlands families in a program with the Redlands Police Department.

Still, the Supercenter isn’t likely to help the plight of struggling downtown stores, said Redlands resident Harriet Hone.

“Why do stores have to be so huge and tasteless?” Hone asked in an opposition letter to the city.

Some members of the three-year-old Redlands Good Neighbor Coalition worry about the impact of trucks carrying supplies to the 24-hour store that could endanger students heading to the new Citrus Valley High School at Texas Street and Pioneer Avenue.

Some opponents also complain that Wal-Mart was given a $4.8 million sales tax rebate in 1991 when the existing 125,000-square-foot store was built. Now that store could sit empty indefinitely, they complain.

Opponents hope to force Wal-Mart to withdraw its plans, as it did in Highland and Fontana. Or they hope to persuade city officials to reject the plan as Inglewood did.

Mendez said Wal-Mart would like to have a dialogue with opponents to address concerns.

Mayor Jon Harrison told opponents at a recent town hall meeting in north Redlands that City Council members have an obligation to be objective when assessing plans for the Supercenter.