Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Walmart to Open in Encinitas, Despite Objections

Walmart has snuck in through the back door of Encinitas, almost unnoticed. The giant retailer has already pulled permits to start construction at a vacant 105,000-square-foot store on the corner of Leucadia Boulevard and Calle Barcelona.

To the chagrin of many Encinitas residents, Walmart avoided the public review process by negotiating directly with the building's leaseholder, Home Depot. Even though it closed its Expo store over three years ago, Home Depot still maintained the lease on the building. By not proposing a new building (the site is in the already heavily commercialized Encinitas Ranch Specific Plan area), Walmart was able to abide by zoning regulations.

On Wednesday, September 28, the city council informed the 20 residents who showed up at the meeting that there was nothing the city could do to stop Walmart. After the lease arrangement between Home Depot and Walmart was a done deal, Walmart approached the city and was able to meet all zoning and building codes by not proposing a change to the exterior of the building. The only change required is the walling off of 8000 square feet of floor space, making it an unusable “dead zone”; the reduction of the store's area will bring Walmart into compliance with the required five parking spaces for every 1000 square feet.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The six speakers that addressed the council, including former mayor Sheila Cameron, demanded that the city take action. One said that Home Depot ignored the 150 letters opposing the lease deal. A representative from the Leucadia Town Council said she had never received as many emails as she had about the Walmart issue. Another speaker said the UltraStar Cinemas chain expressed an interest in the Expo building, but Home Depot did not negotiate with them.

The city's attorney said that since Walmart has met all zoning requirements and the 15-day window for a citizen-filed appeal expired last week, there was nothing the city could do. Two councilpersons advised the residents opposed to Walmart to not shop there.

My February 27, 2010, article followed up on a rumor that Walmart was coming to Encinitas. At that time, Encinitas head planner Tom Curriden denied anyone in his department had formally talked to Walmart — contrary to an item written by a well-connected columnist for the Coast News.

In recent years, residents in San Marcos and Inglewood have succeeded in stopping Walmart with citizen-backed ballot initiatives. Last year, San Diego backed off on its proposed legislation against “big box” retailers after Walmart announced a legal challenge to the ordinance.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

Walmart has snuck in through the back door of Encinitas, almost unnoticed. The giant retailer has already pulled permits to start construction at a vacant 105,000-square-foot store on the corner of Leucadia Boulevard and Calle Barcelona.

To the chagrin of many Encinitas residents, Walmart avoided the public review process by negotiating directly with the building's leaseholder, Home Depot. Even though it closed its Expo store over three years ago, Home Depot still maintained the lease on the building. By not proposing a new building (the site is in the already heavily commercialized Encinitas Ranch Specific Plan area), Walmart was able to abide by zoning regulations.

On Wednesday, September 28, the city council informed the 20 residents who showed up at the meeting that there was nothing the city could do to stop Walmart. After the lease arrangement between Home Depot and Walmart was a done deal, Walmart approached the city and was able to meet all zoning and building codes by not proposing a change to the exterior of the building. The only change required is the walling off of 8000 square feet of floor space, making it an unusable “dead zone”; the reduction of the store's area will bring Walmart into compliance with the required five parking spaces for every 1000 square feet.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The six speakers that addressed the council, including former mayor Sheila Cameron, demanded that the city take action. One said that Home Depot ignored the 150 letters opposing the lease deal. A representative from the Leucadia Town Council said she had never received as many emails as she had about the Walmart issue. Another speaker said the UltraStar Cinemas chain expressed an interest in the Expo building, but Home Depot did not negotiate with them.

The city's attorney said that since Walmart has met all zoning requirements and the 15-day window for a citizen-filed appeal expired last week, there was nothing the city could do. Two councilpersons advised the residents opposed to Walmart to not shop there.

My February 27, 2010, article followed up on a rumor that Walmart was coming to Encinitas. At that time, Encinitas head planner Tom Curriden denied anyone in his department had formally talked to Walmart — contrary to an item written by a well-connected columnist for the Coast News.

In recent years, residents in San Marcos and Inglewood have succeeded in stopping Walmart with citizen-backed ballot initiatives. Last year, San Diego backed off on its proposed legislation against “big box” retailers after Walmart announced a legal challenge to the ordinance.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Next Article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Sept. 19, 2019
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.