by Gaylen Young
Central Valley Business Times, CA -
BAKERSFIELD
After nearly five years of what seemed insurmountable obstacles, the Wal-Mart Supercenter stores on Panama Lane and a companion location on Gosford, may now officially resume construction after a ruling by a Kern County Superior Court Judge.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Twisselman ruled Friday, after a four month review of the thousands of documents prepared in the case, that the environmental reports are now adequate, according to Lee Jamieson, developer of the project at Highway 99 and Panama Lane.
Jamieson estimated that construction will resume in three to four months, with the store opening about five months later probably in time for Christmas.
Back in 1992, developer Castle and Cooke had plans to build a new shopping center project along Gosford Road near Harris in the Southwest. Just a few blocks away on Panama Road near Highway 99, developer Lee Jamieson was finalizing plans to build a shopping center there.
The Gosford Center was to include a new Kohl's, a Sam's Club, and a Wal-Mart Supercenter store.
The White Lane project was to include a Lowes, an Office Depot and a Wal-Mart Supercenter store.
But by 1993 as construction was about to get underway for some of the other stores in those centers a citizens group emerged to challenge the building of the Wal-Mart stores.
Some believed the driving force behind the citizens group was the grocery workers unions, which were in the middle of hot negotiations for new contracts with the major grocery store chains. They argued having Wal-Mart Supercenters would overwhelm the regular chain stores like Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs with lower prices making it too difficult to compete.
The issue went to court. A lower court ruled construction on the shopping centers should be halted until further study could be completed.
Eventually the issue went to the 5th Circuti Court of Appeals which ruled the City and the developers needed to do a more thorough environmental impact report on the two projects.
So the half-built Wal-Mart store on Panama Lane was closed up and has become an eyesore ever since.
The other stores in the two centers were allowed to continue to operate while the projects were under review.
After completing a massive environmental impact report and jumping through all the other hoops required by the Appeals Court, developers and opponents met one final time with the City Council last November to discuss the issues again.
But the Concerned Citizens group which had originally opposed the projects had all but dwindled to one or two people who had difficulty finding specific things wrong with the project except to again challenge the care of several misplaced kit foxes which once lived around the freeway area.
Castle and Cooke CEO Bruce Freeman told the Council and public the new Wal-Mart at Gosford would become one of the finest such stores built in the state because of tough building standards his company requires.
Lee Jamieson, developer of the Panama Lane project, commented his company had gone in to physically remove any remaining kit foxes near his project and moved them to safer locations.
Finally, after several comments, Council members gave unanimous approval for the two projects saying all the concerns had previously had been addressed.
A Wal-Mart spokesman attending the November meeting told the City Council then, the existing Wal-Mart store on White Lane would likely be demolished once the new store is completed with most of the store employees finding employment at two new stores.
When the new Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Columbia earlier this fall, it provided job opportunities for more than 200 people...
