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Big-box development debated in Sacramento
The necessity of Wal-Mart Supercenters in Lodi and other California towns was debated Wednesday during a panel discussion to open an annual conference on the Central Valley.
A Wal-Mart representative, a Turlock planner who recently fought a proposed Supercenter and a land use expert were assembled to talk about big-box development in smaller communities at the seventh annual Great Valley Conference in Sacramento. Wal-Mart plans to build more than 40 of the combination grocery and retail Supercenters across the state, including a 219,000-square-foot building in Lodi.
Much of the discussion Wednesday treaded on ground covered in the local Supercenter debate. One side claimed the public doesn't want the traffic, blight and low wages associated with big-box development. The other countered that the store's low prices benefit everyone, and that only union and other supermarkets are opposed to the Supercenters.
Land use attorney Mark Wolfe said questions surrounding any Supercenter project should revolve around its current need in the community and its affect on the future. Smaller communities don't necessarily have the population to require such a large store, but studies have shown that people in other communities are willing to travel to shop in Supercenters.
"For the first time in history, the size of the retail store is not dependent on the population of the community, but rather the size of the road in front of it," Wolfe said.
Charlie Woods, Turlock's community development director, said his city's decision to adopt an ordinance preventing the proposed Supercenter last year was not aimed directly at Wal-Mart. He said fears of a traffic shift and the potential blight such a large building would bring, coupled with zoning issues, convinced city leaders that such a large business was not necessary for the city.
But Peter Kanelos, Wal-Mart's community affairs manger for the southwest United States, said Turlock's City Council was influenced by Save Mart and other union representatives. He claimed Save Mart met with council members while the issue was being debated, and even offered to pay the city's legal fees.
Wal-Mart sued Turlock after it passed the ordinance, claiming it was unconstitutional because the law singled out one business. The case is still tied up in litigation.
The panel was moderated by News-Sentinel Editor Richard Hanner. It was part of the opening session for the two-day event, which deals with a variety of issues facing the Central Valley. The conference continues today at the Radisson in Sacramento.
"This is a conference about the Valley, for the Valley and, hopefully, is useful to the Valley," said Carol Whiteside, president of the Great Valley Center.
The opening session also featured speaker Mark Drabenstott, the director of the Center for the Study of Rural America. Rather than imitating or taking a backseat to Los Angeles or the Bay Area, he said, the Central Valley can forge its own identity by playing to its strengths -- namely, agriculture.
Pharmaceutical crops, where farmers can grow fields of crops modified to treat diseases, and regionally branded food products such as those found in Europe are only two ways to inject life into agriculture, Drabenstott said. Increasing competition from outside countries, however, has forced American farmers to grow in order to offer lower prices, he said.
"If you are not the lowest producer, the global economy will surely let you know about it," Drabenstott said. "With globalization, it's be big or be gone."
That saying later resurfaced during the big-box panel discussion. Wolfe called it "Reilly's Law," in the history of retailing, people will always gravitate toward the larger store, all things being equal.
Contact Business Editor Greg Kane at gregk@lodinews.com.
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