Wal-Mart Seeks Vote on New Store in November : Simi Valley: The discount retailer will cover the cost of letting election decide the project’s fate. Two critics seek restrictions.

Wal-Mart, which wants to build a large discount store in Simi Valley, has submitted a proposed ballot measure to let local voters decide the store’s fate. But two critics have asked the city to make changes in it.

The Arkansas-based retail chain, which has agreed to pay for the ballot measure, wants the city to revise its development rules so that Wal-Mart can build next to land that Simi Valley has reserved for a regional mall.

Opponents argue that the Wal-Mart would destroy Simi Valley’s prospects for a regional mall and lure business away from existing smaller stores.

Steve Frank, co-chairman of a coalition opposing the Wal-Mart, sent the city a letter last week asking for three amendments to the chain’s proposed ballot measure.

These would require the store to undergo an exhaustive environmental impact review and to submit an employment plan showing how many new jobs would go to Ventura County residents. Frank’s letter also asked for a provision that would prevent the city from waiving fees or giving redevelopment funds to Wal-Mart.

“The mom and pop stores should not have to finance the competition by city use of their tax dollars,” Frank said in his letter.

Another resident, Barbara Veazey, also wrote to the city, recommending a provision that would prohibit construction of the Wal-Mart before the regional mall is built.

Wal-Mart is considering a 151,000-square-foot store at the northeast corner of First Street and the Simi Valley Freeway. The city has reserved adjacent acreage for a regional mall, and city planning rules require that the mall be built first.

To change that rule, the retail chain has agreed to pay the cost of a Nov. 2 ballot measure.

If a special election is called solely for this measure, the cost is expected to be about $84,000. If it is combined with a special election proposed by Gov. Pete Wilson, the cost would be about $16,800, city officials said.

Wal-Mart’s proposed wording was submitted to the city staff last week. The measure calls for changes “to promote the development” of high-volume stores that generate significant sales tax revenue and encourage residents to shop locally.

The measure also calls for changes in city rules concerning signs, landscaping and lighting.

The city staff is analyzing Wal-Mart’s proposed ballot measure and will make recommendations to the Simi Valley City Council at its June 21 meeting, said Laura Kuhn, the city’s deputy director for advanced planning.

She declined to discuss the content of Wal-Mart’s document until the staff report has been completed. Kuhn also said she could not discuss the two letters from the Wal-Mart critics, but added, “We’re certainly going to attach that information to the staff report.”

The City Council must approve the critical wording for the question that appears on each ballot. The wording could affect how voters react to the issue.

Kuhn said representatives of Wal-Mart and local residents will be able to comment on the proposed wording of the ballot question at the June 21 meeting.

Wal-Mart officials have declined to comment publicly on the Simi Valley project, saying they do not talk about plans for their new stores until a deal has been completed.