FIGHT OVER GROCERY HEATS UP RESEARCH SUPPORTS POTENTIAL SUCCESS OF LATINO MARKET.

Byline: Judy O'Rourke Special to the Daily News

SANTA CLARITA - Research supports establishing a Latino market to anchor Valencia's oldest shopping center, but officials with Vallarta Supermarkets wouldn't say if the company has cut a deal to open a local store.

``We've looked at the demographics,'' said John Marquiss, who works in the company's real estate and financial department. ``They support a store. We wouldn't put it there if they didn't.'' Marquiss' comments came Tuesday night at a Santa Clarita City Council meeting where residents near the Old Orchard shopping center implored City Council members to block Vallarta's rumored move to the center, to replace an abandoned Albertsons.

City Attorney Carl Newton said the city has no ``appropriate means of influencing the decision'' regarding tenants.

``Any influence by the city is inappropriate,'' Newton said. ``It could be the basis for a cause of action.''

The leasing agent for the shopping center said an exhaustive search for prospective tenants has yielded no takers among the upscale markets he contacted. Residents say they want a Gelson's, Bristol Farms or a Trader Joe's.

Tim Crissman, president of Crissman Commercial Services, said he initially had some concerns about a Vallarta market occupying the spot. After visiting several Vallarta markets in other cities, talking to his developer clients who have done business with the company and talking with Vallarta officials, no doubts remain, he said.

``I am firmly convinced that they're the right choice that will serve the community,'' he said Wednesday. Crissman declined to provide further details, saying only ``While there's been a meeting of the minds, there are many steps to going forward before a store can reopen in that location.'' Crissman's family lives blocks from the shopping center.

The residents had met Oct. 19 in a store in the shopping center at Orchard Village and Lyons Avenue, where they aired concerns, developed a united strategy for warding off the market and floated hopes of attracting a tenant they could embrace.

Last week, Mayor Cameron Smyth said he had sent a letter to the chief executive officer of Trader Joe's expressing his personal hope the company would occupy the boarded-up grocery store in the shopping center, vacated by Albertsons. On Tuesday, Smyth said he had sent the letter Oct. 2, before the efforts of those opposing the Vallarta market were known. Smyth said the city regularly sends recruitment letters to businesses.

A Trader Joe's spokeswoman said the company has no immediate plans for the area.

``It is not on the schedule in the next two years,'' said Alison Mochizuki. ``Wooing is not a factor that goes into our decision to bring a Trader Joe's into a city.''

The aging Albertsons - whose approximately 35,000-square-foot store anchored Valencia's first shopping center - closed in July, and a new 52,000-square-foot store opened several miles away in Saugus. Albertsons still holds the lease on the Valencia site, Crissman said.

Albertsons spokeswoman Stacia Levenfeld would not comment on the company's real estate transactions.

The matter was not on the council's agenda, but several speakers voiced their opinions for the market during a time set aside for public comments. Applause followed the comments of speakers on both sides.

``The clients drawn to a Vallarta are not likely clients to patronize existing businesses,'' said Josy Block, who voiced hopes for a high-end market. ``If we do not feel safe, we will not continue to go to the center.''

``We're not ogres,'' Marquiss said. ``We don't attract a bad clientele.'' He said the comment made by one resident that the company buses in people to shop at its stores is mistaken.

The prospect of the Vallarta market is ``causing some tension in the neighborhood,'' resident David Keating said.

Newhall resident Belia Pellido said afterward she is gleaning the message that more than just the market is unwanted.

``Just because we are Latin or Mexican, seems the reason why they do not want us here, not because we're doing something bad,'' she said. ``It makes me uncomfortable to hear that.''

Marquiss extolled the merits of the company and sought to dispel the notion the store would not be a good neighbor. Afterward, he would not confirm whether a deal has been sealed.

A Vallarta market occupies the former site of a Costco store in a Burbank shopping center. The old Costco store was smaller than the current prototype. The owners of the center tore down the aging structure and replaced it with a new one.

Burbank's senior redevelopment program manager Jack Lynch said he was not aware of any conflict surrounding Vallarta's opening in that location.

A Stevenson Ranch resident said it is about time Vallarta sinks roots in Valencia. ``We go to the Valley to buy products that help us enjoy diverse cuisine, products from Latin America and Mexico that we enjoy on a daily basis in our house,'' said architect Miguel Renteria on Wednesday.

Renteria is the president of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a nationwide organization.

``My wife goes on a weekly basis to Trader Joe's to find products not found in Vallarta. We spend dollars in the Valley we could be spending in Santa Clarita.''

Judy O'Rourke, [phone]

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com