Superstore application raises concern

Superstores in small communities are a recipe for controversy and Folsom is no exception.Coming on the heels of Wal-Mart's application for a 236,501 square-foot super center in the Broadstone area, the Folsom City Council last week discussed how large retail stores selling groceries would affect nearby businesses as well as whether the city should fine-tune its business application process."There is no specific definition in our zoning for a superstore," said Interim Assistant Community Development Director Gail Furness De Pardo, adding that superstores have become the prevailing trend among big chain retailers.The city's current municipal code doesn't distinguish between super centers and other retail outlets. Furness De Pardo said many local governments have chosen to place restrictions on where the large combination retail grocery stores can be built, the products that can be sold and their retail area size.Sacramento Central Labor Council Executive Secretary Bill Camp said super centers have the capacity to overwhelm communities that aren't ready for them. "Essentially, the local business community has a real hard time maintaining economic viability," the union official told council members.Wal-Mart currently has a store on Riley Street, though it is not a super center. City officials expressed their concern that once the new location opens, the existing site will be left vacant in the same way that the city recently lost two Ralph's and one Food Source grocery stores. Those closures have sent ripples through surrounding businesses in the city's east area, central business district and north area, said Councilman Steve Miklos.Federal Economic Development Corporation Chairman Joe Gagliardi seconded the city's concerns, but also said new regulations may make the city appear unfriendly to business. "That'd not be encouraging," he said.Wal-Mart attorney William Fleischacher tried to allay the city's fear that the retail giant would abandon its current site after the new one is built, saying the intent was always to operate both. He also said his client was against any change to current city regulations."We don't believe there is a need for any additional, burdensome regulations," he said. "We don't consider super center use that different from general retail.""I absolutely do not agree that when they open the new store, this one will remain open," said Miklos, adding that the Wal-Mart application came in response to the city's planned discussion. "You guys were not prepared to draft an application until you heard about the ordinance.""This is certainly not anti Wal-Mart. We need to do this from an economic standpoint," added Vice Mayor Kerri Howell. Wal-Mart wasn't to blame for the recent closures, she said, but with Albertson's on the edge, an empty Wal-Mart building "would push them over."Mayor Andy Morin decided to create an advisory committee to look at possible options for the city, appointing Miklos and Councilman Jeff Starsky to it.A self-described free market proponent, Starsky suggested a conditional use permit that would make the super center application hinge on Wal-Mart agreeing to maintain its current location. The attorney said he wasn't authorized to make that decision.Summing up, Morin said, "It's a discussion that's been happening in a lot of other cities and it was bound to happen here."