CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHTS: PURSUING LAND AND A SUPERFIGHT
Suisun Wal-Mart Supercenter May Kill Travis AFB, a Local Economic ... [NewsBlaze (Folsom, Calif.)]
SUISUN/FAIRFIELD - The Solano County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) tonight is expected to discuss a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter project here, and whether the store could lead to the closure of Travis Air Force Base - which contributes $1 billion to the local economy and employs more than 14,000 residents.
That meeting will be 7 p.m. Thursday at the Solano County Administration Center (675 Texas St., first floor) in Fairfield.
Earlier Thursday, community groups rallied against the Wal-Mart, and released letters from the chair of the ALUC, and Travis Base Commander suggesting that the Wal-Mart violates the Travis Airport Land Use Plan, and would “encroach” on the base. That encroachment could lead to the base closure.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Friday, June 15 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: LAND UP FOR GRABS
Wal-Mart may buy gateway project [Paradise (Calif) Post]
The 59-acre parcel of land proposed to house the Skyway Plaza shopping center could soon be purchased by Wal-Mart, developer Fred Katz confirmed Wednesday.
He said his partnership FHK Companies, which currently owns the land, has entered into an agreement with the company to purchase the land. The FHK Companies partnership has started to sell off its assets and dissolve, mainly due to his two partners wanting to retire, Katz said. Through negotiating with Wal-Mart as a potential anchor store in the Skyway Plaza shopping center, a deal was struck for the company to eventually own the property and construct a Wal-Mart superstore.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Thursday, June 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: RESIDENTS VOICE TRAFFIC CONCERNS
Residents Say Wal-Mart Store May Lead to Traffic Deaths [News Blaze (Calif.)]
Residents call Wal-Mart a ‘pirate,’ claim proposed Supercenter may lead to more traffic, deaths along ‘blood alley’ section of Highway 12
Residents here rallied against a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter Saturday, charging the retail giant is more of a “pirate” than a savior - and predicted the Wal-Mart store could lead to more deaths on an already deadly stretch of Highway 12, known as “Solano County’s version of blood alley.”
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Wednesday, June 13 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART LAND GRAB
Wal-Mart buys 52-acre Orcutt property [Santa Maria (Calif.) Times]
Less than a year after the Santa Maria City Council said it would not make land-use changes to allow Wal-Mart to build a controversial “super center” in town, the big-box retailer purchased property in Orcutt, just outside the city limits.
Known in the Orcutt Community Plan as Key Site 26, the 51.5-acre site is east of Highway 135 along Orcutt Road, south of Foster Road and west of Hummel Drive. The proposed extension of Union Valley Parkway runs through the site.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Tuesday, June 12 | 0 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: COUNCIL MEMBERS DEBATE WAL-MART
Tran part of new majority [San Gabriel Valley (Calif.) Tribune]
There has been political turmoil in Rosemead for a number of years because council members voted 5-0 in 2004 to permit a Wal-Mart Supercenter to be built in southern Rosemead despite widespread residents’ opposition. But change has finally come to Rosemead.
A new City Council three-member alignment (Polly Low, John Tran and John Nu ez) bodes well for the future peace and prosperity of Rosemead residents.
Two pro-Wal-Mart council members, Bill Alarcon and Joe Vasquez, were defeated in 2005 by anti-Wal-Mart candidates Tran and Nu ez. But that left three pro-Wal-Mart council members in power (Margaret Clark, Gary Taylor and Jay Imperial). Citizens were rebuffed in their attempt to exercise their right of referendum to overturn the development agreement with Wal-Mart. But the fight continued.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Tuesday, June 12 | 0 comments | Permalink
Hanford, CA. State Supreme Court Upholds Limits On Size and Location of Superstores
A decision by the California Supreme Court two days ago in a 4 year old case has reinforced the right of cities and towns to regulate the size and location of big box stores—as long as they have defined a clear public purpose in doing so. Even though a small merchant appears to have lost in this case---small merchants everywhere have won. Here are the basic facts in the case, Hernandez v City of Hanford: In 1989, the city of Hanford, California created a new commercial district of several hundred acres of land called the “Planned Commercial” district---designed for large, big box stores. City officials wanted to create a zone that would allow big stores, but not have a negative impact on the downtown commercial district. Specifically, the city did not want to allow the big box zone to have uses that were already prominent in the downtown, because they wanted those uses to remain downtown—such as furniture stores, banks, car dealers, and professional offices. The new PC district allowed department stores to sell furniture---but did not extend that right to furniture stores. The city allowed “home furnishings” accessories to be sold in retail stores in the PC district, but furniture stores could not sell furniture. Stores like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Sears, which came to the PC district, were selling furniture. In 2002, a downtown furniture merchant tried to open up a furniture store in the big box district. When the new store opened, a city inspector instructed the merchant to remove all furniture from the store, and the owner complained that the zoning code was being enforced in a discriminatory fashion, because department stores in the PC district were being allowed to sell furniture, but he could not---in the same district. After conducting a series of study sessions, the city decided to change its code in 2003 to allow department stores over 50,000 s.f. to sell furniture only in one location within the store, and no larger than 2,500 s.f. of floor area. The PC zone was rewritten to state, “the sale of furniture is prohibited in the PC district except by department stores.” The merchant who had opened a furniture store in the PC district then sued the city, arguing that the ordinance regulated economic competition, and violated the equal protection clause of the federal and state Constitutions. The lower court ruled against the plaintiff, noting that the purpose of the ordinance was not to limit competition, but to preserve the vitality of the Hanford downtown district. The court said that treating large stores differently than smaller stores was not a violation of equal protection, because the city was trying to lure big stores to the PC district. The merchant appealed this ruling, and the Court of Appeals sided with the merchant, saying that limiting furniture sales to stores in excess of 50,000 s.f. in the PC zone was arbitrary, and “a rational relationship between the size classification and the goal of protecting downtown simply does not exist.”
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, June 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
Community Impact Assessment Legislation Nears Passage in Maine
Last week, the Maine House of Representatives passed LD 1810, the Informed Growth Act, by a vote of 82-49. This legislation would highlight the true costs of big box development and provide communities with the tools and information to create and sustain vibrant, just, and sustainable local economies.
The legislation has been championed by the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, with the goal of providing cities and towns better tools with which to evaluate the full range of benefits and costs associated with large-scale retail development. It would allow retail development decisions to be made using objective information on how the development would impact things such as existing small business, employment and the cost of public services.
The Maine Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this week.
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Monday, June 11 | 10 comments | Permalink
CALIFORNIA SITE FIGHT: OFFICIALS COLLECT COMMENTS
Clovis collecting Wal-Mart comments [Fresno (Calif.) Bee]
Clovis officials are collecting letters from residents and others interested in commenting about a draft environmental impact report for a Wal-Mart Supercenter. The deadline to submit a written comment is Monday.
The supercenter, proposed to go on Herndon Avenue between Clovis and Sunnyside avenues, is the anchor of a 500,000-square-foot shopping center that will include Kohl’s, Petco, Ross and Old Navy.
A supercenter includes a Wal-Mart supermarket.
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Posted by Beth Gostanian on Monday, June 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
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