Gilroy
– A superior court judge yesterday handed Wal-Mart a victory in
its legal battle with union workers, ruling that the city did not
violate environmental guidelines in approving a Wal-Mart
Supercenter for Pacheco Pass Center.
Gilroy – A superior court judge yesterday handed Wal-Mart a victory in its legal battle with union workers, ruling that the city did not violate environmental guidelines in approving a Wal-Mart Supercenter for Pacheco Pass Center.
“The court finds that the City of Gilroy did not engage in any prejudicial abuse of discretion,” wrote Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Leslie C. Nichols. “The city proceeded in a manner required by law, and its determination or decision is supported by substantial evidence.”
The judge framed his decision in a one-page order issued Monday afternoon, following an hour and a quarter of oral presentations on Friday. The case was preceded by months of legal briefings and documentation and “thousands of pages of documents,” according to Acting City Attorney Andy Faber.
“It’s a flat-out win,” he said. “They would have had us do a great many things differently. There are [environmental] mitigations, but they wanted more. The bottom line is they [the union workers] alleged that we did not follow the proper procedures, and of course we think we did.”
Union workers filed the lawsuit in early May, claiming the city violated various portions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in its approval of a supercenter proposal by the retail giant.
Unions around the country have fought the entry of Wal-Mart into local communities, at times focusing on environmental issues as a means to block new stores.
William Kopper, the attorney representing local members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, declined to comment on the outcome of the case until reading the decision, but spoke about the motivations of his clients.
“They’re concerned that if a super Wal-Mart goes in it’ll do what super Wal-Mart does throughout the country – that is, when it goes in, regular supermarkets close,” he said. “My clients realize that Wal-Mart is going to be able to sell groceries at 20 to 30 percent less because their labor costs are so much less. They believe that what Wal-Mart does is substitute lower paying jobs for higher paying jobs. They’ve done it in other industries and they’re probably going to do it in the grocery industry in the state as well.”
Union workers were not the only ones worried about plans for a supercenter. Concerned business owners and environmentalists packed City Council meetings earlier in the year during the project approval process. City councilmen won a few small concessions, getting the company to agree, for instance, to replace the standard supercenter arcade with an environmental education center, institute an aggressive local hiring program, and instruct local businesses on how to compete with its discount prices.
Wal-Mart, currently located at 7900 Arroyo Circle, will locate its new superstore at Pacheco Pass Center off Highway 152 and U.S. 101, across from Costco and Lowe’s. Plans call for a 220,000 square-foot store on a 20-acre lot. In addition to its regular discount offerings, the supercenter would sell groceries and offer oil and lube jobs at the supercenter.
A Wal-Mart spokesman said they are “very pleased with the decision.” The company has already begun grading its new site, the first stage before construction. The new store is scheduled to open in 18 months.
An appeal to the Sixth District Court of Appeals is possible, according to Faber. He explained that the union workers did not seek an injunction to stop Wal-Mart from proceeding with construction while the case was in court. He predicted the appeal, if there is any, would be the same situation.
