The battle over what would be Walmart’s first Supercenter in Santa Barbara County will continue fomenting until at least mid-October, since Lompoc’s Planning Commission failed to reach a decision on the expansion project at its Sept. 23 meeting.
With a 3-2 vote, the commission decided to hold off on approval of the project’s environmental impact report and development plan until its Oct. 13 meeting. The members cited the need for more information on the expansion’s impact on “urban decay” and on small businesses in Lompoc.
Voting to continue the matter were commissioners Frank Hain, Nick Gonzales, and Kate Griffith. Commission Chairman Jack Rodenhi and commissioner Helen Free dissented.
Walmart hopes to expand its store on Lompoc’s West Central Avenue by 51 percent—from 109,838 to 151,271 square feet. The additional space would be used for groceries and produce.
Company spokeswoman Amelia Neufeld said the expansion would create as many as 85 jobs and bring increased sales tax revenue to the city’s general fund, as well as bring shoppers back to Lompoc from neighboring cities and draw new customers to the region.
“We are looking forward to the approval of our expansion in Lompoc,” Neufeld said. “It is the hope of thousands of Lompoc area residents that they have the opportunity to shop local at their Walmart store with the convenience of one-stop shopping.”
In the past two years, she said, Walmart has generated nearly $800,000 in tax
revenues in Lompoc.
Neufeld said the Lompoc store, which opened in 1993, is in need of a “facelift” and would be remodeled as part of the expansion, with a new corporate logo, paint scheme, and shelving.
The retail giant originally unveiled plans to expand the location into a 207,505-square-foot Supercenter in 2006, but scaled the size back due to fierce resistance from local residents.
Spearheading opposition to the discount retailer is a grassroots campaign called Citizens Against Walmart Expansion (CAWE). Members of CAWE have been battling Walmart since the corporation first announced its intentions to build a store in Lompoc.
CAWE member Robert Cuthbert, who’s opposed to the expansion because of what he said is the negative impact “big box” stores have on local economies, said he
was “impressed” with the Commission’s decision.
“Not only are they focusing in on the environmental impacts that a Supercenter will have on a community of our size, but they’re very concerned about blight and stress on police and fire,” he said. “The expansion will mean more empty storefronts, and we still don’t know whether or not the owners of these commercial properties will capitalize enough to be able to maintain those properties.”
Cuthbert added no matter how the
commission ultimately decides to rule on the issue, one way or another, appeals would be made to the Lompoc City Council.
“It’s not an exercise in futility, because this is an important process that flushes out the various issues involved,” he said. “If this city council listens to the will of the people of Lompoc, they’ll turn it down.”
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 7, 2010.