Location of the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Galt. (News-Sentinel graphic)

Developer buys land for proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Galt

A Southern California development group has purchased a 53-acre commercial site east of Highway 99 to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Galt -- the fourth planned Supercenter between north Stockton and Galt.

The proposed Supercenter would take up 20 acres of the property purchased by a group called PZ Partners, based in Dana Point. The property is located just east of Highway 99 between Boessow and Simmerhorn roads, across the freeway from the Galt Plaza Shopping Center.

PZ Partners filed its application to develop the 206,416-square-foot Supercenter on 20 acres in late September. The developer has already begun preparing a mandatory report to determine the project's potential impacts on the surrounding environment.

A Supercenter proposed in Lodi at the southwest corner of Lower Sacramento Road and Kettleman Lane has met with a firestorm of support and resistance from the community.

Galt residents and merchants have been quiet about the Wal-Mart proposal, but Planning Commissioner LeeAnn McFaddin, who also chairs the Galt District Chamber of Commerce, said the project may eventually become controversial in Galt as well.

Galt officials have been non-committal about the prospects of a Wal-Mart coming into Galt. The chamber has not taken a position on the project, opting to get more information on the project and getting a better feel from its members.

"The only questions I get is, 'When is Wal-Mart going to open?'" said Councilman Tom Malson. "Basically I'm hearing only from the people who want to shop there."

Galt is located 10 miles away from two other Wal-Marts -- one in Lodi and one in Elk Grove. Both are traditional Wal-Marts without the grocery components.

One Supercenter opened in October on Hammer Lane in Stockton, and another has been proposed for north Stockton off Interstate 5 and Eight Mile Road.

The Supercenter would compete with Galt's two major supermarkets -- Save-Mart, directly across Highway 99 on C Street, and Raley's, located east of the freeway on Twin Cities Road. A smaller store, Galt Super Market, is located west of Save-Mart.

A chamber survey last fall showed that 15 merchants would support a Supercenter, while 21 opposed the idea. For a Wal-Mart without a supermarket, 17 merchants supported it while 19 opposed it.

Wal-Mart's entrance would face a proposed extension of Crystal Way between Boessow and Simmerhorn roads. Crystal currently goes south from Boessow and dead ends at Dry Creek Ranch Golf Course, just north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin county line.

Residents and city officials have frequently expressed their frustration over the overpass traffic connecting Boessow Road and C Street. The city of Galt is attempting to acquire federal funding to build a new overpass with at least two lanes in each direction.

Several free-standing commercial buildings are also planned on the remaining acreage east of Highway 99.

John Dahoudanis, a spokesman for the developer, said Monday that the Environmental Impact Report would focus on traffic impacts around nearby Highway 99. The study would also look at environmental concerns, such as whether wetlands and endangered species exist on the property.

Dahoudanis said Monday that the company has already completed a traffic analysis, but it won't be available to the public until it is incorporated in the draft EIR in 12 to 18 months.

The City Council may give a good indication of where the Wal-Mart project is headed late this year, when it adopts its updated General Plan, which will be Galt's land-use bible.

Plans call for the developer to install necessary traffic signals and widen existing streets, Dahoudanis said. However, the company has no plans to contribute to a new interchange, he said.

And he hopes the Crystal Way extension would be financed jointly by Wal-Mart, PZ Partners and the city.

McFaddin said she thinks Galt residents and merchants have been quiet about the project because they are waiting to see how Wal-Mart proposals fare in Lodi and other communities.

McFaddin said she hopes to have Wal-Mart and PZ representatives appear before the public at the chamber's March or April luncheon.

As a planning commissioner, McFaddin said, "I will absolutely not take a position until I see the plans. It's not fair to the applicant."

However, McFaddin said she's becoming increasingly concerned about businesses on C Street, directly across the freeway from the proposed Wal-Mart.

Raley's officials said in October they still expect their Galt store to succeed, whether or not Wal-Mart is built. Officials from Save-Mart on C Street were unavailable for comment.

A manager for Galt Super Market on A Street declined to comment.

The Hammer Lane store is only the second Supercenter to open in California. The other is in La Quinta.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.