Much to the chagrin of big-box retailer Walmart, the bell finally tolled—at least for the moment—on a protracted battle over a proposed Supercenter store expansion in Lompoc.
On Oct. 13, after meeting for more than an hour, the Lompoc Planning Commission denied a proposal that would have expanded the Walmart location on Central Avenue by 41,433 square feet, with the additional space to be used in part for a larger grocery section.
Planning commissioners Frank Hain, Nick Gonzales, and Kathleen Griffith criticized the project’s Environmental Impact Report as “inadequate,” specifically a section of the report regarding the impact of the expansion on urban blight.
The report, paid for by Walmart but conducted independently, concluded the expansion would have a “less than significant” impact on the city and no significant impact on urban blight. However, the study identified one Lompoc grocer who could be forced out of business as a result of the expansion.
At the meeting, Commissioner Jack Rodenhi, though expressing his belief that the EIR was written to satisfy regulations, made the motion to deny the adequacy of the report. The motion passed unanimously.
Walmart spokeswoman Amelia Neufeld said the company would appeal the ruling to the Lompoc City Council, stressing the project would stimulate the local economy through the creation of 85 new jobs and increased sales tax revenue.
“On behalf of our customers in Lompoc, we are disappointed in the Planning Commission’s decision, however, we are glad to finally have a decision,” Neufeld said. “We believe the Environmental Impact Report, which is more than 1,200 pages long, has thoroughly analyzed every aspect of this project and meets all the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.”
Fanny Diehl, a member of Citizens Against Walmart Expansion—a group adamantly opposed to the project—said a larger Walmart store would only “destroy” small business in a city of Lompoc’s size, and applauded the commissioners’ decision.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Diehl said. “We all just worked ourselves to death on this. We had the most cogent reasons, and the [Planning Commission] seemed to agree with it.”
This article appears in Oct 21-28, 2010.