This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

In a Potential Blow to Walmart, Council Looks to Tighten Grocery Store Rules

The council wants to revise zoning code changes that residents complained would allow a proposed Walmart to move forward with little scrutiny.

Elk Grove city council members moved Wednesday to close a loophole in the city’s zoning code regulating large retail stores that one resident said was “big enough to drive a refrigerated truck through.”

Earlier this month, the council put a on large retail stores after realizing that recent changes to the city’s zoning code could let Walmart build in Madeira with very few restrictions—by calling it a grocery store.

“We can’t have a loophole that allows something to be qualified as a grocery store that just isn’t a grocery store by any stretch of the imagination,” Councilmember Gary Davis said Wednesday.

Find out what's happening in Elk Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Under the existing zoning code, stores 100,000 square feet and larger require a conditional use permit, which allows city officials to restrict things like hours of operation.

But grocery stores—defined as between 15,001 and 99,999 square feet in size with more than 10 percent of floor area dedicated to non-taxable goods—do not require the permits.

Find out what's happening in Elk Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Walmart could use the loophole to build its store just by increasing the amount of grocery space, opponents pointed out.

At Wednesday's meeting, council members directed city staff to draft new rules raising the threshold amount of non-taxable goods required for grocery stores to 50 percent.

The stricter requirement "would ensure that your typical, traditional grocery store would be permitted by right in a commercial area,” city planning director Taro Echiburu said. “However, the ones that are more retail discount stores with a significant grocery component would require a conditional use permit.”

That would allow for more oversight by city government—which both councilmembers and residents said was important in the case of Walmart.

“Residents deserve a chance to be able to talk about hours and safety and signage and lights," said Davis. "Those are all things that can make or break your community. We need to have the ability to go through those projects one at a time.”

Council members also told Echiburu to scrutinize the zoning language for any other unintended consequences.

“I think there’s more clean-up that needs to be done here,” said Councilmember Patrick Hume.

Walmart has been trying to build a second Elk Grove store on the southeast corner of Bruceville Road and Whitelock Parkway since 2009, using entitlements previously approved for a larger Target store.

Some nearby residents concerned about noise from the store sued the city and Walmart, and earlier this year a Sacramento County Superior Court judge that the Walmart project had to go through a public review process.

The residents, who call themselves Friends of Madeira, recently filed a second lawsuit against the city over the zoning code changes.

Friends of Madeira member Peter Gaffney urged the council Wednesday to close the loophole.

“Please do not use our zoning code to lure new or expanding business,” Gaffney said. "We are encouraged by the effort you’re making to get it right. It protects residents while creating opportunities for the right kinds of businesses to flourish in our city.”

Echiburu said a draft of the zoning changes could go to the Planning Commission at its Aug 4 meeting, and then to the City Council on Aug. 24.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Elk Grove