Story Tools

Email this story | Print this story

Indexes

Today's Stories

Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Supercenter approval runs into opposition

• LUSD teachers focus on fitness as academic aid

• Woodbridge neighborhood objects to settlement

• Lodi school district looks to gain from lawsuit settlement

• Prosecutors seek more time, may ask judge for delay in Rose case

• Regional Roundup

• Areas for youth will be focus of upcoming council meeting

• Logbook

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

• Chase ends in crash

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

November 17th, 2009

• Clarification

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• Regional Roundup

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

November 13th, 2009

• What to expect with new homebuyer tax credit

• Lodi Muslim: Local mosque not involved

• Regional Roundup

• Mayor Larry Hansen points out Lodi's economic progress

• First phase of Lockeford park by 2011?

• Lodi veteran recounts close calls in Vietnam

• Burglary suspects are under arrest

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (152)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (67)
• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise (56)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (48)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Lodi Flames slim playoff chances vanish in setback to Tracy Bulldogs (25)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Nightmares about America's future (23)
• Tokay Tigers blow late 27-point lead in loss to Wolf Pack (22)

ADVERTISEMENT

Supercenter approval runs into opposition

Not even Wal-Mart is happy with the Planning Commission's recent approval of a 226,868-square-foot Supercenter and nearly a dozen other retailers in southwest Lodi.

A firm associated with the retail giant was among two to appeal the commission's Dec. 8 approval of the project's environmental report, use permit and tentative parcel map to City Council, said Community Development Director Konradt Bartlam. Doucet & Associates, a Roseville-based civil engineering firm, is contesting two conditions tacked on by the commission, including one that requires Wal-Mart to lease its existing store before it can receive a building permit for the Supercenter.

Meanwhile, Stockton-based law firm Herum Crabtree Brown on Friday filed a second appeal on behalf of Lodi First, which attorney Steven Herum refers to as a local citizen's group. Herum claims the environmental study approved by the city does not sufficiently address the project's potential impacts on urban decay, pollution and traffic.

"They've simply omitted relevant evaluations of the potential effects," Herum said on Monday.

Herum says he has fought at least 10 Wal-Mart projects across the state in recent years, including one in Bakersfield last year. In that case, he challenged an environmental report on similar grounds and halted the development of a Supercenter along the Highway 99 corridor.

On Monday, a Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled against Bakersfield and Wal-Mart, setting a precedent that Herum believes could have an affect in Lodi.

"It is an appellate court published opinion that can be cited as authority," Herum said. "There is a lot of overlap between (Lodi and Bakersfield's) Environmental Impact Reports. Wal-Mart tends to have the same people do the same EIRs each time."

Officials with Wal-Mart and Browman Development Co. could not be reached by the News-Sentinel's Monday deadline.

Herum is the sole spokesperson for Lodi First. He would not say who or how many people the group represents.

While Herum's appeal contests the environmental report, Doucet's is more concerned with the conditions added by the commission, Bartlam said. One was the requirement that the existing Wal-Mart have a new tenant before a building permit for the Supercenter is issued.

"They don't want to restrict the building permit," Bartlam said. "They think that's too restrictive."

The appeal also cites a recommendation that the city's housing element include a study detailing the effects a Supercenter would have on affordable housing needs in Lodi, Bartlam said.

The City Council is expected to hear the appeals on Jan. 19, Bartlam said. He said it is not common to see opposite sides of an issue appeal a commission's decision.

"Perhaps we've done our job," Bartlam said. "We've made no one happy."

Contact Business Editor Greg Kane at gregk@lodinews.com.