No big box limits planned in Lodi; Supercenter vote to come this fall

While city leaders in Stockton, Galt and Elk Grove have moved this summer to limit the size of future big box stores, their counterparts in Lodi have no plans to do the same.

Instead, the city will likely decide next month whether to allow a new 226,000 square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter at the corner of Kettleman Lane and Lower Sacramento Road — across from the existing Wal-Mart.

In considering the project, city leaders say they're following the will of the public. Lodi voters in November 2004 shot down a proposal to curb the size of retail stores, by a 57 percent to 42 percent margin.

"We had a vote ... Am I supposed to second guess the citizenry?" said Mayor Bob Johnson, noting he would "absolutely not" support size limits on future big box stores.

The City Council, including Johnson, approved an earlier version of the Supercenter plans in 2005. But a San Joaquin County Superior Court judge overturned that approval, citing the need for more study of the project's effects.

Critics of the Supercenter plans have remained quiet during the past few months, waiting for Wal-Mart consultants to complete the new reports. Those will address the Supercenter's effect on Lodi's economy, agriculture and its draw on the city's electric utility.

Aaron Rios, Wal-Mart's Central Valley spokesman, could not be reached for comment.

What do you think about plans to bring a Wal-Mart Supercenter to Lodi?

Local residents respond

“

"I think we should have a Supercenter here. When I visited one in Florida, everything was under one roof."

”

Mary Morgan
retired, Lodi

“

"I think it's a good idea. We've been going to Stockton (and its Supercenter) the last couple nights. Everything would be in one store ... and hopefully cheaper."

”

David Garcia
carpenter, Woodbridge

“

"What I've seen of these Supercenters (in other towns) ... everything else died around it. I'm not sure that would happen here ... I'd like to have a more convenient place to shop, but Stockton is not that far away."

”

Kristy Amrine
homemaker, Galt

“

"I think it'd be a negative. I think we have enough stores. I think it would push the little stores out."

”

Marla Parsons
business owner, Lodi

“

"(It would be) closer and more variety ... it'd bring more jobs."

”

Henry Perez
Galt

“

"It's something I support — we need the tax dollars. If you were going to fight Wal-Mart, you should have done it 10 years ago before the other one went in."

”

Jack Wixon
retired, Lodi

“

"I think it's a good thing because they can turn the old Wal-Mart into something teenagers can use, like a bowling alley."

”

Katie Nightengale
cosmetology student, Lodi

Betsy Fiske, a Lodi homemaker who has actively opposed the Supercenter, said the Stockton

City Council's recent big box ban was "encouraging."

Passed on Tuesday, the decision blocks businesses larger than 100,000 square-feet and containing full-size grocery stores from being built.

"I just wonder why Lodi feels the need to go against the grain," said Fiske, a member of Lodi First, a group critical of the Supercenter plans.

City Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce, who supported the Supercenter plans in 2005, said those opposed to the project need to look at the city's "bigger picture."

"Our commercial development is vital," she said. "Our residential stock is fat. If we don't grow in this matter, we're going to have some tough times."

She noted that she would listen to a discussion on big box store limits if it was brought to the city. But as far as supporting an ordinance on that, "it depends on how well it's written."

Mounce noted that she would support higher-paying businesses than Wal-Mart, if they were to come to town.

"Where are they?" she asked. "If Lodi can entice them, oh my gosh, that'd be awesome. And I'd go to apply to get one."

The big box ordinances passed by Stockton and Elk Grove, and considered by Galt, follow similar moves by cities in the Bay Area in recent years. From Concord to Antioch to Brentwood, leaders have either rejected new Supercenters or passed bans limiting future ones.

Stockton's move was especially significant, said a former member of the now-defunct Small City Preservation Committee.

"I think it's really historic that the Stockton City Council has passed the ban because they were really the city that looked at, and allowed, any kind of development," said Robin Knowlton, owner of the Knowlton Gallery in Downtown Lodi. "I hope that it gives the city of Lodi leaders a little courage to say 'no' to the Supercenter stores."

The city expects to receive Wal-Mart's supplemental reports next week. Staffers will then review them and make them public within a few weeks, said Randy Hatch, Lodi's chief planner.

From there, the Lodi Planning Commission will likely hold a public hearing on the studies. The City Council then would hold its own hearing and make a final vote, he said.

The city has recommended Wal-Mart pay a "downtown impact fee" to offset the losses Downtown businesses could face if the Supercenter opens. At $4.50 per square foot, the fee could generate more than $1 million and be used for an array of programs, from new business loans to employee training.

Wal-Mart could also be required to compensate for the loss of agricultural land. City planners have suggested a "one for one ag easement" plan, in which Wal-Mart would preserve an equal number of acres of farmland as it eliminates, Hatch said.

Contact reporter Chris Nichols at chrisn@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Why? wrote on Aug 25, 2007 10:14 PM:

" To Chuck - well, I don't shop there, for the most part, although I've gone to Sheri's and the theater once in awhile. Still, there's nothing downtown has that would be available at Wal-Mart. "

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