Bitter feuding over Wal--Mart continues

Heated debate over the controversial Wal-Mart continues in Huntington

Beach after a missing railing kept the store from opening on Wednesday as

scheduled.

City officials did not issue a permit of occupancy to the store

because the retailer failed to install a metal railing at nearby Lambert

Park thus ensuring that all building codes were met.

Wal--Mart Vice President Bob McAdam’s request of the City Council

Tuesday night for a bond continuance, or permit with a guarantee of work

to follow, was met by several residents vehement counter request that no

permit be issued until all terms are met.

City officials did not bend, saying that when the terms of the

agreement were met the certificate of occupancy for the

135,000-square-foot store located on a 14-acre site on Talbert Avenue in

Huntington Beach would be issued.

Wal-Mart agreed to make improvements to Lambert Park including the

missing railing in exchange for building it’s store on open space, said

Bill Workman, assistant city administrator.

“We’re real close but there’s some things that still need to be worked

out that include electrical and fire codes, making sure the building is

safe for customers and employees and ensuring everything with the park is

complete,” Workman said.

Wal-Mart changed two circuit breakers per the city’s request Tuesday

and was waiting for a metal railing to arrive that the city required be

installed in Lambert Park located near Talbert Avenue and Newland Street,

said Bob McAdam, vice president of government relations for Wal-Mart.

The metal railing for a walkway in the park is scheduled to be

installed within days, which is when the Wal-Mart will hopefully open, he

said.

“The shelves are stocked and everything is ready to go, the people in

Huntington Beach are ready, unfortunately the city hasn’t seen a clear

way to work it out,” McAdam said. “In other communities the normal

approach has been to post a bond ensuring that all details will be worked

out.”

City officials don’t consider that a valid excuse.

“This is not last-minute, they’ve known about it for a long time,”

said Rich Barnard, director of communications for Huntington Beach. “Once

the work is done we’ll be happy to issue a [certificate of occupancy].”

The delayed opening is another chapter in the Arkansas-based

retailer’s storied past in Huntington Beach.

The city was torn by seven years of debate between residents who were

worried that their quality of life would be sacrificed with a giant

retailer in their backyard and school district officials hailing the

store because of the increased sales tax dollars that it would bring to

their coffers.

Proponents won the battle in March of 2000 and eagerly await the

store’s opening.

“It’s going to bring money to the school district and be good for the

kids and the community,” said Tracy Pellman, who sits on the Board of

Trustees at Ocean View School District.

The district owns the property and is expected to reap $400,000

annually leasing the property to Wal-Mart.

The income will be used for school facility improvements such as new

carpet, wiring and repairing rundown classrooms and gymnasiums.

The divisive nature of the project was evident when an initiative to

block the development was defeated by a narrow margin.

Measure I, proposed by a group calling themselves Crest View United,

would have rezoned the former Crest View School site for residential use

effectively blocking the construction, but was defeated by 54% of voters.

Crest View members claimed that the store would bring increased

traffic, air pollution and noise to their neighborhood.

Some feelings haven’t changed.

“The location was bad before and it’s still bad,” said former Crest

View member Robert Cronk. “They could have put a Wal-Mart at a different

location and left it as open space for the community.”

To counter, Pellman spearheaded the Save Our Schools campaign to

defeat Measure I and was victorious.

With the opening of the discount store, Councilwoman Connie Boardman

said she is doing everything she can to make sure nearby residents’

quality of life isn’t being compromised.

“I want to make sure all conditions are met before they open,”

Boardman said.

Some of those conditions include shielding light coming from the

parking lot, making sure the lights are turned off when the store closes

at 10 p.m. each night, installing walls at the correct height, posting

signs along the property restricting campers parking overnight and making

sure bordering homes have double-paned windows installed, Boardman said.

“These are all things that need to be done and staff has informed me

that they are so we’ll wait and see,” she said.

Ocean View School District officials remain excited about the new

Wal-Mart.

An analysis done by Los Angeles-based Keyser Marston Associates Inc.

shows that the city is expected to receive about $400,000 annually in

sales tax revenue from the store.

City officials said the money would go toward many projects varying

from sports and recreational facilities to a senior center.

* BRYCE ALDERTON is the news assistant. He can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at [email protected]