Gilroy Chamber of Commerce President Susan Valenta and other
regional business officials gathered in Salinas Tuesday to urge
Gov. Jerry Brown to veto a Senate bill that would force big-box
”
superstores
”
to undergo economic impact reports before beginning
construction.
Gilroy Chamber of Commerce President Susan Valenta and other regional business officials gathered in Salinas Tuesday to urge Gov. Jerry Brown to veto a Senate bill that would force big-box “superstores” to undergo economic impact reports before beginning construction.
On Wednesday, Valenta said the bill – which goes by the moniker SB 469 – would create additional, “onerous” hurdles that could drive businesses and jobs out of state.
“Those developments who may be thinking of moving into the community, might decide not to do that. And who could blame them?” Valenta said.
Valenta appeared at Salinas City Hall Tuesday along with Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce President Tom Carvey, Salinas Community and Economic Development Director Jeff Weir, Monterey County Farm Bureau Executive Director Norm Groot and California League of Cities Monterey Bay Area Chapter Vice President and Pacific Grove Mayor Carmelita Garcia.
SB 469 affects businesses that are at least 90,000 square feet in size – referred to as “superstores” in the bill – and devote at least 10 percent of their space to groceries.
New versions of large retail stores such as Walmart and Target would fall under the new guidelines. Wholesale membership stores like Costco, however, do not.
The bill, also known as the Small and Neighborhood Business Protection Act, was introduced by Sen. Juan Vargas (D-San Diego).
Both the State Assembly and Senate have approved the bill, which is intended to aid smaller, mom-and-pop stores that may be driven out of businesses by lower-priced, higher volume shops.
But Valenta said the bill is discriminatory and “anti-business,” adding that big-box stores in Gilroy have gone a long way in providing the city with jobs and sales tax revenues.
Faced with approvals by the Gilroy Planning Commission, Gilroy City Council and additional state reviews, would-be stores already face a meticulous process, Valenta said.
“In this particular case, we have local land use controls and all those safeguards are already in place. There’s no real need to put another layer on top of it,” Valenta said.
She added, “We want to have a business friendly environment. Sacramento needs to focus on legislation that spurs business development not deters it.”
