Orange Council Approves Wal-Mart Despite Protests

Hundreds of residents who battled plans for a Wal-Mart store in the Mall of Orange, claiming it would attract unsavory people to their neighborhood, lost their fight Tuesday night.

The City Council unanimously approved the proposal by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to open in the building abandoned last spring by The Broadway.

“I’d like to have Nordstrom or a Macy’s there,” said Councilman Dan Slater. “Fortunately, we live in a country where the economy dictates those decisions and government does not.”

The giant discount chain had been heartily welcomed by mall owners and many of the merchants in the ailing shopping center on Tustin Street last spring. But neighbors immediately protested that the discount store would draw undesirable types of shoppers and increase traffic and crime on their streets.

More than 200 people packed City Hall Tuesday night for a final showdown.

“I stand opposed to what’s going on,” resident George Chiales said. “Because it’s going to affect my quality of life.”

But Councilman Mark Murphy, echoing statements by his colleagues, said, “What I think is most important is that we ensure private property rights.”

The Planning Commission in August rejected Wal-Mart’s site plan, officially because the commissioners liked neither the traffic circulation plan nor the style of the planned building. But they also made disparaging remarks about the negative impact Wal-Mart has had on smaller shops in other regions where the chain has located.

Wal-Mart appealed to the City Council that the commission’s denial was “arbitrary.”

The City Council had yet to take a vote as of late Tuesday. But Vern Jones, a city planner, said during a break at the hearing that city officials would recommend approval.

“It may not be perfect,” Jones said, “but it absolutely complies with code and is a reasonable project.”

Opponents have urged mall co-owner Harry Newman Jr. to put a Macy’s or another prestigious department store in the 25-year-old mall, but he told them that those stores were not interested in the Mall of Orange when they have stores so close by in Brea and Santa Ana.

“We’ve approached Macy’s. They said no,” said Newman last week. “We’ve approached Mervyn’s. They said no. Wal-Mart was the best option. They will bring in more people. They will increase sales for every merchant in the mall. The main thing they will do is produce foot traffic and sales.” With the revenues that new shoppers will generate, the mall management will be able to give the building a complete make-over, he said.

Interim City Atty. Alan Burns told council members that despite objections by critics, the city’s authority was limited to site plan approval and not whether Wal-Mart should be included in the mall.

“The owner has a legal right to develop his property,” Burns said. “The council does not have the right to dictate whether it’s a Nordstrom, a Macy’s or a Neiman Marcus.”