WAL-MART FATE IS UP TO VOTERS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE- In a first for the city of Palmdale, voters will decide whether a shopping center anchored by a Wal-Mart store should go forward.

Measure T asks voters to reaffirm a City Council action making zoning changes and a general plan amendment to accommodate the shopping center, which is planned for 33 acres at 47th Street East and Avenue S.

Supporters say the shopping center will provide much-needed economic development to Palmdale's east side. Officials estimate the Wal-Mart shopping center will bring in more than $600,000 in annual revenue to the city and create 500 new jobs.

In addition, developers plan to donate 12 acres for a Palmdale School District campus and 21 acres more for a city park.

``It's very important to the east side of Palmdale,'' said Mayor Jim Ledford. ``It brings amenities we've long asked for. It's important to the overall appearance of the east side.''

Opponents, including United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 say the project will replace good-paying jobs with jobs with lower wages and fewer benefits. The shopping center will bring in traffic and noise and further erode Palmdale's small-town feel, they say.

``They are a wealthy company that provides only 35 percent of its people with medical insurance, and more than 50 percent of its workers qualify for food stamps,'' union President Rick Icaza said. ``They become a burden on the community.''

The development plan calls for the building of a regular Wal-Mart store but would include provisions to allow the store to expand to a ``super'' Wal-Mart. Super Wal-Marts include full-service grocery sections, a concept that alarms supermarket workers.

The union's claims about the impact on jobs by such superstores is backed by a 1999 report prepared for the Orange County Business Council.

``The aggressive entry of supercenters such as those operated by Wal- Mart into the regional grocery business is expected to depress industry wages and benefits at an estimated impact ranging from a low of $500 million to a high of almost $1.4 billion per year, affecting 250,000 grocery industry employees,'' the report said.

Supporters of the Wal-Mart say Palmdale's east side in general - and the Avenue S corridor in particular - will be a thriving market able to support Wal-Mart and the existing grocery stores. The east side's population is projected to grow from 51,718 residents today to 105,590 residents by 2020.

Wal-Mart officials say their store will be a good neighbor and that they can peacefully coexist with other stores. Wal-Mart officials have a stack of letters of support from chambers of commerce from other California cities, including Clovis, Irvine, Merced, and Oxnard, stating their Wal-Marts have been good for their economies.

As for wages and benefits of their workers, Wal-Mart officials say they survey similar stores in a community and set their wages and benefits at competitive levels.

Another area of contention is the impact on the quality of life the shopping center will have on eastside residents.

Opponents say the shopping center will generate traffic, including additional semitruck trips, and create noise that will bother neighbors.

``They (eastside residents) don't want to become another San Fernando Valley,'' Icaza said. ``They like the small-town environment.''

Supporters concede the project will add traffic, but say that will be outweighed by new street improvements. As part of the development, left-turn lanes and new traffic signals will be added to 47th Street East and Avenue S at no cost to the city.

Supporters also say the project will provide shopping and economic development to a region of the city that has felt bypassed by economic good times.

In the voter information pamphlet, the pro-Measure T argument is signed by the Palmdale City Council; Nancy Smith, superintendent of the Palmdale School District; and by Ron Tropcich, president of the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce.

The anti-Measure T argument is signed by Lorraine Imperial, a Vons grocery clerk; Janice Roberts, a Ralphs grocery service manager; and Theresa Tanaka, a Palmdale resident.

The city and the union have clashed since March when the City Council approved zoning and general plan changes converting 13 acres needed for the project from residential designations to commercial designations. The union and its supporters filed a lawsuit challenging the city's environmental review of the project and launched a petition drive seeking to put the land use changes on the ballot.

The lawsuit was dropped in exchange for the city dropping its legal challenges against the petition.

The development company behind the project includes Stan Rothbart, a Los Angeles developer. Rothbart developed the Palmdale Promenade and a Simi Valley shopping center, each anchored by Wal-Mart store.