GILROY
– This ever-growing city of big box retail stores likely will be
getting Northern California’s first Wal-Mart Supercenter, but not
just yet.
GILROY – This ever-growing city of big box retail stores likely will be getting Northern California’s first Wal-Mart Supercenter, but not just yet.
Gilroy’s business-eager City Council took a one-step-at-a-time approach to the retail giant’s proposal for a super-sized version of its regular store. At a regular City Council meeting Tuesday, Councilmen developed a list of 10 issues they want addressed before considering the Wal-Mart project next month.
“We’re not in a hurry to approve, we’re in a hurry to do the right thing,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said. “We’re like a poster child for Northern California (on this issue), but we need to do what’s responsible for our own city.”
The project is headed for the Pacheco Pass Center off Highway 152 and U.S. 101 across from Costco and Lowe’s. Plans are to build a 220,000-square-foot store on a 20-acre lot. In addition to its regular discount offerings, Wal-Mart would sell groceries and offer oil and lube jobs at the Supercenter.
At yet another jam-packed City Hall session regarding the Supercenter, Council voted 5-2 for the month-long continuance. Councilmen Russ Valiquette and Craig Gartman dissented because one of the 10 items to be addressed included a staff analysis of three competing economic impact studies.
