Walmart proposes a dozen stores in San Diego
Walmart proposes a dozen stores in San Diego
Retail giant releases plan before council vote on supercenter ordinance
By Craig Gustafson
January 27, 2011 at 6:49 p.m.
With a repeal of San Diego’s supercenter ordinance all but certain, Walmart began a public-relations blitz Thursday to convince skeptical city leaders to approve a slew of its stores in the near future.
The world’s largest retailer said it wants to build a dozen stores in the city over the next five years as a sign of its commitment to bringing low-cost food and goods to San Diego residents. Walmart said the stores — which will come in varying sizes and formats, including an unspecified number of supercenters — would boost the region’s economy by creating 1,400 jobs.
The first step to breaking ground on those proposed stores begins Tuesday when the City Council is expected to repeal an ordinance that requires retailers, such as Walmart, to conduct an economic analysis of a supercenter’s impact as part of the city’s permitting process. Critics say it creates a de facto ban on supercenters.
The next step will be far more difficult: Convincing city officials to approve construction of Walmart stores.
The city is home to four of the county’s 18 Walmarts, but a council majority has long been opposed to supercenters — stores of 90,000 or more square feet with 10 percent of floor space dedicated to nontaxable items such as groceries and prescription drugs. A ban on supercenters was approved and then quickly reversed in 2006 before the current supercenter ordinance was adopted hastily in December.
Walmart responded with a speedy signature drive that will force a costly public vote on the ordinance — unless the council admits defeat and repeals the measure.
Maggie Sans, Walmart’s vice president of public affairs, said the retailer released its five-year plan Thursday because it’s focused on solutions.
“The big-box ordinance might be good politics, but it’s bad business and it’s bad for San Diego families,â€
