`Big box' stores bill draws fire
Posted: 07/30/2011 07:12:12 AM PDT
A bill moving through the California Legislature that would require "big box" stores to submit detailed economic analyses before projects can be approved is drawing criticism from local government and business advocates.
Senate Bill 469, introduced by Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, would cover establishments exceeding 90,000 square feet that commit 10 percent of sales floor space to items, mostly food, that are exempt from sales tax.
Discount warehouses that charge membership fees, such as Costco, are excluded.
Critics claim the bill is a disguised attack by labor unions on nonunion companies like Wal-Mart.
The bill's supporters include the California Labor Federation, which sponsored the legislation, and United
Food and Commercial Workers, one of the largest organized labor groups in the country.
California Retailers Association President Bob Dombrowski called the legislation a "power grab" by the UFCW.
"People like fairness," Dombrowski said. "They don't like to see the political process used for private gain."
Angie Wei, California Labor Federation legislative director, said the intent of the law is to bring uniformity to inconsistent local codes, some of which mandate impact studies and others that do not.
"What we've found," Wei said, "is that supercenters hopscotch over those local ordinances to land in a city that doesn't have them."
The Vargas bill prevents what Wei called a "race to the bottom."
"Especially now, given how tight local budgets are, every city is trying to get that big tax base," she said.
Some legal observers tie the legislation's genesis to a recent failed bid by the San Diego City Council to enact a similar law.
Wal-Mart organized a petition campaign to put the ordinance to a public vote, compelling the city to repeal the measure in February.
Vargas did not return a call seeking comment.
Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, voted for the law when it passed the state Senate by a 21-14 vote.
"The reason I voted for the bill is really large, big box stores can have a huge effect on the community," Lieu said.
Lieu and bill supporters cited impacts on surrounding businesses, housing and traffic, among other issues.
Another local elected official, Manhattan Beach City Councilman Richard Montgomery, lines up with the law's detractors.
"Sacramento's creating a bill that is going to stick the finger in the eye of local government, again," said Montgomery, who is also president of the Independent Cities Association.
"I don't want them telling cities, whether it's my city, Los Angeles, Redondo Beach or Torrance, `You can't have this type of retailer in your city."'
Proponents of the bill say that's not what the law is about.
"It doesn't tell them what they have to do, it just provides information to the city," Lieu said. "Giving additional information to a local city is not a bad thing."
As currently written, the bill would not seem to affect the Wal-Mart planned for the former Mervyns in Torrance.
The store, scheduled for a fall opening, will be located in the 75,400-square-foot space across from Del Amo Fashion Center.
Wal-Mart and Torrance cleared a legal obstruction this spring when a court ruled that the city complied with the law when it approved the remodeling of Mervyns.
The challenge was brought by a union-backed group, Building an Economically Sound Torrance.
The state Senate bill's next committee hearing is Aug. 17 before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Senate Bill 469, introduced by Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, would cover establishments exceeding 90,000 square feet that commit 10 percent of sales floor space to items, mostly food, that are exempt from sales tax.
Discount warehouses that charge membership fees, such as Costco, are excluded.
Critics claim the bill is a disguised attack by labor unions on nonunion companies like Wal-Mart.
The bill's supporters include the California Labor Federation, which sponsored the legislation, and United
Food and Commercial Workers, one of the largest organized labor groups in the country.
California Retailers Association President Bob Dombrowski called the legislation a "power grab" by the UFCW.
"People like fairness," Dombrowski said. "They don't like to see the political process used for private gain."
Angie Wei, California Labor Federation legislative director, said the intent of the law is to bring uniformity to inconsistent local codes, some of which mandate impact studies and others that do not.
"What we've found," Wei said, "is that supercenters hopscotch over those local ordinances to land in a city that doesn't have them."
The Vargas bill prevents what Wei called a "race to the bottom."
"Especially now, given how tight local budgets are, every city is trying to get that big tax base," she said.
Some legal observers tie the legislation's genesis to a recent failed bid by the San Diego City Council to enact a similar law.
Wal-Mart organized a petition campaign to put the ordinance to a public vote, compelling the city to repeal the measure in February.
Vargas did not return a call seeking comment.
Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, voted for the law when it passed the state Senate by a 21-14 vote.
"The reason I voted for the bill is really large, big box stores can have a huge effect on the community," Lieu said.
Lieu and bill supporters cited impacts on surrounding businesses, housing and traffic, among other issues.
Another local elected official, Manhattan Beach City Councilman Richard Montgomery, lines up with the law's detractors.
"Sacramento's creating a bill that is going to stick the finger in the eye of local government, again," said Montgomery, who is also president of the Independent Cities Association.
"I don't want them telling cities, whether it's my city, Los Angeles, Redondo Beach or Torrance, `You can't have this type of retailer in your city."'
Proponents of the bill say that's not what the law is about.
"It doesn't tell them what they have to do, it just provides information to the city," Lieu said. "Giving additional information to a local city is not a bad thing."
As currently written, the bill would not seem to affect the Wal-Mart planned for the former Mervyns in Torrance.
The store, scheduled for a fall opening, will be located in the 75,400-square-foot space across from Del Amo Fashion Center.
Wal-Mart and Torrance cleared a legal obstruction this spring when a court ruled that the city complied with the law when it approved the remodeling of Mervyns.
The challenge was brought by a union-backed group, Building an Economically Sound Torrance.
The state Senate bill's next committee hearing is Aug. 17 before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
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