Elk Grove, Stockton Pass Laws

Restricting ‘Big Box’ Stores                                                                              (Back)

Battle vs. superstores

spreads statewide

The decision by a developer to scrap plans to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Concord is only the most recent victory in UFCW 8’s ongoing battle against non-Union “big box” stores.

  In August, city councils

in Elk Grove and Stockton

voted to limit construction

of super-sized retail outlets

(see story at right).

The growing trend to limit big box stores began in Turlock and spread to

Sacramento, Elk Grove,

Hercules and other cities.

Big-box battles also have been engaged in Los

Angeles, Ontario, Porterville, Rosemead, Fortuna, Ripon, Antioch, Northridge, Oakland and the Lugonia District of

Redlands.

    Efforts to impede Wal-

Mart’s invasion of California are having an impact.

    Of the 40 Supercenters

that Wal-Mart planned to

open in California by 2007, fewer than 10 have been approved.

    Wal-Mart recently

announced that it will reduce the number of

Supercenter openings in

2007 by about a third.

President Jacques Loveall

hailed the passage of laws in Elk Grove and Stockton that

regulate construction of

“big box” stores in those

cities.

    Elk Grove’s City Council passed its ordinance on July 11 and Stockton’s followed suit on Aug. 14. UFCW 8 members and allied community groups played an important role in ensuring the passage of both ordinances.

    “When Wal-Mart and other

predatory companies are allowed to open gigantic super-stores, good Union jobs are lost and communities suffer from economic decay, crime and blight,” Loveall said.  “The people of Elk Grove and Stockton deserve credit for defending their Handbills invited citizens of Elk Grove and Stockton to City Council meetings where “big box” ordinances were being considered. Grove’s ordinance, which passed on a 3-1 vote with Mayor Jim Cooper absent, bans discount superstores of 150,000 square feet or more that dedicate at least 10 percent of their floor space to nontaxable items such as groceries.

    The ordinance also tightens

restrictions on big box stores between 100,000 and 150,000 square feet by requiring reports on their potential effects on jobs, the city’s net retail sales, crime and urban decay.

    The ordinance was passed two years after residents of Elk Grove’s Sheldon area protested Wal-Mart’s plans to build a Supercenter there. Wal-Mart eventually withdrew the proposal.

Working with UFCW 8 were the

Elk Grove Community Connection and

the Elk Grove Coalition Advocating

Proper Planning.

    In Stockton, the City Council voted

6-1 to ban stores that exceed 100,000

square feet and contain full-size grocery

stores. Councilwoman Susan Eggman

said, “I don’t want Stockton to be a bigbox

city.”

    Stockton’s ordinance is expected to

halt Wal-Mart’s plans to build Supercenter

stores in the city’s Weston Ranch and

Spanos Park areas. The new law also

poses problems for a SuperTarget store

that is planned in northeast Stockton.

    An already-existing Wal-Mart store at

Hammer Lane will not be affected.

President Loveall noted that Union

and community efforts to oppose Wal-

Mart Supercenters are working.

    “Wal-Mart recently announced that it

would reduce the number of

Supercenter stores it plans to open in

2007 by about a third,” he said. “This is

an important strategic shift for a

company that has pursued aggressive

growth for more than 20 years.”

Loveall thanked members of the

Union and coalitions that worked to

pass the ordinances.

    “Everyone who wrote a letter,

attended a meeting, sent an email or

took the time to answer a survey, all

made a significant contribution,” he

said.

Judge Overturns Atwater’s OK of SuperTarget

AMerced County judge struck down the approval by Atwater city officials of plans to build a giant  SuperTarget store.

    In his June 27 decision, Superior Court Judge Ronald Hansen ruled that the project’s potential environmental impact on the community should have been studied more extensively before it was submitted to Atwater planning officials.

   “Judge Hansen made the right decision,” UFCW 8 President Jacques Loveall said.

“It was obvious that the developers were trying to circumvent state environmental laws

when they concealed their intention to build a 24-hour SuperTarget store.”

    “The use of such terms would have automatically triggered an environmental review of the possible impact the store would have on existing Atwater businesses,” Loveall said. “Now that an environmental review is going forward, we will have the time and the platform we need to uncover the real effects that a SuperTarget store would have on the

Atwater community.”

    The judge noted that the developer went to “great lengths” to avoid using terms such as “super center” and “super store” when it submitted the proposal to the city.

Official publication of UFCW 8-Golden State Jacques Loveall, President