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E-mail StoryWal-Mart supercenter plans back out for public review
| Wednesday, Jun 6 2007 12:42 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Jun 6 2007 2:54 PM
Two Wal-Mart supercenters that have been on hold for years have taken another step forward with the city release of new environmental studies of them.
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File photo: The Wal-Mart Supercenter remains unfinished on Panama Lane due to an environmental lawsuit.
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Now it’s the public’s turn.
The Bakersfield Planning Commission will take public comment on the environmental impact reports Thursday night.
The city approved EIRs for the projects in 2002 but a citizens group successfully sued it, saying the documents were inadequate. The 5th District Court of Appeal agreed with the Bakersfield Citizens for Local Control and invalidated the reports, forcing the city to start over.
Development of the two Wal-Marts — one near Panama Lane and Highway 99, the other by Gosford and Pacheco roads — was stopped. The building at Panama and 99 has sat unfinished during the process. In both cases, surrounding stores were allowed to open.
The city hired a consulting firm to create the new EIRs, and that firm hired consultants to help with specific parts of the report. The EIRs were paid for by the developers.
In the new EIRs, the consultant attempted to answer concerns raised by the opponents that the court agreed with:
• Urban decay: The court ruled the city didn’t consider whether allowing the stores could lead to a “downward spiral of retail closures and consequent long-term vacancies that ultimately result in urban decay.”
To answer that concern, the city’s consultant hired a real estate firm, which concluded that the retail market in Bakersfield is strong enough to survive the introduction of two Wal-Marts. Even retail properties that are vacant do not exhibit signs of urban decay, and properties that are vacant tend to be filled quickly, according to the report.
• Cumulative impacts: The first set of EIRs didn’t consider enough how the two stores’ impacts would add to the impacts of other development, both existing and future, according to the court.
The new EIRs include what the consultant calls the most comprehensive cumulative impact analysis conducted in a Bakersfield EIR, considering everything that is likely to be built by 2030.
• Health impacts: The court ruled the old EIR didn’t address the health impacts resulting from the stores’ affects on air quality.
The new EIRs include a study of the air pollution resulting from the Wal-Marts and concludes that the pollution will have not have a significant impact on health.
• Kit fox: The old EIR for the Panama Lane Wal-Mart didn’t show adequate consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the San Joaquin kit fox, the court ruled.
The new EIR spells out how developers must deal with kit foxes and their dens. For example, only hand tools can be used when dens are being destroyed.
• Air quality: The old EIR for the Gosford Wal-Mart showed the project would have significant air quality impacts, but wouldn’t interfere with implementation of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s air quality plan. The court ruled these two conclusions didn’t match up.
The new EIR points to agreements between the developers of both stores and the air pollution district, under which the developers will use programs elsewhere to make up for the impacts on air quality that the stores produce.
• Railroad spur: The court ruled the old EIR didn’t address the potential impacts from a railroad spur that could be built. The new EIR says the old EIR was wrong to even refer to a railroad spur, as there’s no legal ability to build the spur.
The Bakersfield Planning Commission is scheduled to take public comment on the documents at its meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The commission is not scheduled to vote on the projects Thursday, but will vote on whether to recommend the projects likely in September or December.
People who can’t make it to Thursday’s meeting have until July 2 to send comments by mail or e-mail to the city planning department.