Upland Outcry Has Wal-Mart Shifting Gears

Early negotiations to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Upland, a rapidly growing city on the western edge of San Bernardino County, have been scuttled by municipal leaders because of an outcry from residents.

The store would have been part of a new retail center between Foothill Boulevard and Baseline Road, although the center’s developer had not yet signed a formal contract with Wal-Mart, city officials said.

Upland residents opposed the project, citing traffic concerns and the effect of such a large store on the adjacent residential area, said Mayor John “J.P.” Pomierski.

“Upland’s a pretty nice, upper-class bedroom community,” Pomierski said. “We’re pretty tough on design; we’re pretty tough on ordinances that are going to keep it that way.”

The change of plans resulted from the latest skirmish in the retailer’s Southland expansion effort. Statewide, Wal-Mart intends to build 40 Supercenters, which are regular Wal-Marts that include discount grocery stores.

The Supercenters have received a largely warm welcome in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, but unions, local politicians and some community activists have fought to keep them out of Los Angeles County. A similar store was rejected by voters in Inglewood, and Rosemead voters this month ousted two council members who had backed Wal-Mart, though the election result won’t stop the store’s construction.

The proposed store in Upland would have been built on a vacant 98-acre tract in the residential northern part of the city.

“It seemed like the wise and prudent thing to do to say, ‘Don’t go all the way through this process,’ and have to spend a lot more money to tone this thing down,” Pomierski said. The developers “took my lead and decided to come up with some alternate plans.”

About 40 acres, most of which would have made up the Supercenter site, are privately owned and under contract to Allied Retail Partners LLC. The city owns the remaining acreage, which officials hope to turn into a regional park and soccer complex.

“We respect the opinions of the mayor, and we respect the residents and intend to be a good neighbor,” said Doug Beiswenger, a managing partner at Allied, which has offices in Los Angeles and Newport Beach.

Allied is instead planning retail development on 22 or 23 of the 40 acres and high-end homes on the rest, said Upland redevelopment director Steve Dukett. Both the original and alternate plans will be presented to residents March 30.

Wal-Mart spokesman Peter Kanelos described the existing Upland store as “very well-received” and said the company still planned to open a Supercenter elsewhere in town.

Wal-Mart has built Supercenters in Hemet and La Quinta, and has plans for stores in Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Beaumont, Kanelos said.

In Upland, ideal tenants for the smaller retail area would be mid-size sporting-goods or home-repair retailers, Dukett said.

“Like many ... cities, we’re still trying to capture these commercial opportunities where we can,” said Upland community development director Jeff Bloom. The opening of the 210 Freeway extension “really changed that dynamic, and presented an opportunity for the city to do some commercial [development] that it pretty desperately needed for revenue.”

Upland, a city of about 70,000 located 36 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, has had one Wal-Mart for about 12 years.

“They are one of our strongest retailers,” Dukett said, adding that Wal-Mart generated “very strong” sales tax revenue.

The retail giant intends to solicit public input as plans for a new Supercenter develop, Kanelos said. If it is built, the existing Wal-Mart will close.