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The planning commission has given its approval, but some residents say the neighborhood store will bring more traffic to the city. A citizens group has formed to oppose it, but it faces a difficult fight.
Despite some opposition, Walmart’s plans to develop one of its neighborhood grocery stores in La Verne might be inevitable.
On June 25, the planning commission voted 4-1 in favor of the project, which is planned for the shopping center at the northwest corner of Foothill Boulevard and Wheeler Avenue.
That space, formerly occupied by the discount retailer Stein Mart, has been vacant for about two years. Other retailers in the mall have told the city that they want the 40,000-square-foot pad filled as soon as possible.
The issue will now go to the city council, which has scheduled a public hearing July 23 at the La Verne Community Center.
About 300 people attended the planning commission meeting last month, and city officials say even more might attend the session before the council, which has final say on the project.
“This has become an issue of great interest in the entire city of La Verne,” said Hal Fredericksen, the city’s community development director.
“There are some strong feelings on both sides.”
On the anti side, more than 1,370 La Verne residents who call themselves “Keep La Verne Strong – Say No To Walmart!” signed an online petition against the project shortly before the planning commission’s vote.
Since then, additional signatures have raised that number to more than 1,400, according to the city planning department.
“Allowing Walmart to establish a presence in La Verne is simply the wrong kind of growth for our community and city,” the group said in a statement. “This is about preserving our quality of life and reputation. We deserve and want businesses that better meet the needs and character of our community.”
Even a small Walmart store will bring traffic, noise and other public safety concerns to La Verne, a city generally known for having a high quality of life, the group stated.
The petitioners also questioned the need for another grocery store in a city that already has a Vons, a Stater Bros., and access to several grocery stores in neighboring Pomona and San Dimas.
“As the closing of Stein Mart proved, this area is already saturated with grocery stores,” the petitioners wrote. “There are already five full-service grocery stores and several famers’ markets within three miles or less of the proposed Walmart. We simply do not need another grocery store at this location.”
Despite those arguments – and the fact that Walmart is known to put small to medium-sized stores out of business, a reputation that has worked against it in some communities – it will probably be difficult for its foes to keep Walmart from locating in the empty space at 1375 Foothill Blvd.
Walmart is the largest retailer in the United States. The company has deep pockets, it’s used to bad publicity and it has been fighting opposition to its stores from small businesses and local community groups for years.
An organization in Redlands has been fighting a proposed Walmart supercenter for seven years, and the battle shows no sign of being resolved soon. The longer the conflict goes on the better for Walmart, says one person involved in that fight.
“Sometimes I think there’s no way we can beat them,” said Keith Osajima, a leader of Redlands Good Neighbor Coalition, earlier this year. “All we can do is slow them down.”
Besides the planning commission approval, the proposed La Verne Walmart has several factors working in its favor. It will create jobs, the property is zoned for retail and it’s surrounded by successful retailers.
Also, Walmart isn’t asking for conditional use permits because it doesn’t need any, and the project doesn’t require an environmental impact report.
If the city council says yes later this month opponents could file a lawsuit to block the project, said Mark Ramos, a 20-year La Verne resident and a signer of the petition.
Some La Verne residents are against the neighborhood store because Walmart pays poor wages and provides its workers with poor medical coverage, said Ramos, secretary-treasurer of United Food and Commercial Workers Union – a staunch Walmart foe – Local 1428 in Claremont.
Whether Keep La Verne Strong would go to court to block the project isn’t clear, Ramos said.
“No one has talked about filing a suit,” said Ramos, who lives below Arrow Highway, well south of the proposed store site. “I know that if we did it would be a very tough battle. Walmart would probably come at us with everything they’ve got, and they could keep it going for a long time.”
Opponents of the La Verne Walmart aren’t necessarily opposed to a grocery store locating in the shopping mall, which is fronted by a Bank of America and includes a laundromat, fitness center and a sit-down restaurant, Ramos said.
“A Trader Joe’s or a Gelson’s would work great there, and I think a lot of people would support either one of them,” Ramos said. “The problem with Walmart is it’s too much like the other stores we already have. Don’t give us the same old thing. Give us something new.”
As anxious as they are to get the former Stein Mart space filled, business owners in the mall are divided on whether a Walmart Neighborhood Store is the best fit for that space, according to one of those owners.
“No one knows if putting a Walmart there will be a good thing for the mall,” said the owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “There are some people who like it and some people who don’t. My concern is parking, because [Walmart] uses a lot of parking and the parking lot isn’t that big.”
After two years of vacant space, business owners in the mall should welcome any tenant in the former Stein Mart location, even if Walmart isn’t their first choice, said one store manager there.
“I hope the city council approves it,” said Felix Luong, manager of Pick Up Stix at the south end of the mall. “It would be a good thing for the city. If nothing else, it will create jobs and bring in some revenue.”
