Wal-Mart opens its doors; shoppers angry about delay

Bryce Alderton

Day after day they gathered in the parking lot, just waiting for the

moment their weight would cause the automatic doors to slide open.

Anxious customers ready to stroll the aisles in search of bargains

were finally let inside the controversial Wal-Mart store in Huntington

Beach, five days after the retail giant was scheduled to open.

“I’ve been waiting for it and I’ll be coming back tonight with my

husband,” said Jannise Nagle, a Fountain Valley resident, as she walked

out of the store on its opening day with her son Jaedin, 7. “He liked all

the games on the way out, I think we wasted $5.”

Wal-Mart opened its doors at 8 a.m. Monday after finally receiving the

certificate of occupancy from the city Sunday evening.

The store’s opening was delayed because of a missing metal railing for

handicap access in nearby Lambert Park. That railing, and a final check

to ensure all electrical systems and fire codes were up to date inside

the store, caused a delay and a monumental public outcry.

But with the store open at last Wal-Mart officials hope to put that

all behind them.

“We’re excited about the store and hopeful that whatever disagreements

we had with the city are behind us and now will move forward,” said Bob

McAdam, Wal-Mart’s vice president of state and local government

relations.

Wal-Mart has spent more than $1.5 million on items, per the city’s

demands, to shield residents in the surrounding neighborhoods from any

possible negative impacts of the store, McAdam said.

Some of those conditions city officials asked for include shielding

light coming from the parking lot, making sure the lights are turned off

when the store closes at 10 p.m. each night, installing high walls,

posting signs along the property restricting campers parking overnight

and making sure bordering homes have double-paned windows installed.

Surf City was torn by seven years of debate over the store that nearby

residents thought would ruin their quality of life, and that school

district officials who owned the land felt would be a financial coup.In

March 2000 voters defeated Measure I, an initiative meant to block

construction, by a slim margin.

The school district owns the property and is expected to reap $400,000

annually leasing the property to Wal-Mart.

The income will be used for school facility improvements such as new

carpet, wiring and repairing rundown classrooms and gymnasiums.

Many residents were angered over the delayed opening and the city’s

refusal to grant the company a contingency bond while work was completed

due to the loss of sales tax revenue and what many call an

“anti-business” attitude in Huntington Beach.

An analysis done by Los Angeles-based Keyser Marston Associates Inc.

shows that the city is expected to receive about $400,000 annually in

sales tax revenue from the store.

City officials said the money would go toward many projects varying

from sports and recreational facilities to a senior center.