Residents of Westlake Village Mobile Park say they will do anything it takes – including court action – to stop the construction of a 172,000-square-foot Sam’s Club in their backyard. And they say they have the backing of the park’s ownership.
Mega Box Store Plan Approved, Appealed
Westlake Village is located at 2400 Midvalley Avenue in Visalia. That was once the outskirts of the city, and the mobile homes were tucked away west of the almost empty stretch of Mooney Boulevard between here and Tulare. Yet in the last two decades, development has slowly taken hold. Some farmland remains, but inevitable expanding urbanization seems to be the future there.
At the Planning Commission meeting, Monday, October 14, a 4-1 vote gave the city’s endorsement to a development that includes the Sam’s Club and its 28-pump gas station, a restaurant with capacity for 35 vehicles in its drive-thru, and a high-capacity car wash with and vacuuming drying stations. Planning documents filed with the city show Sam’s Club hopes to sell around 9 million gallons of fuel there annually.
In total, the plan calls for more than 200,000 square feet of construction on little more than 17 acres. It will be part of the Visalia Parkway Shopping Center. While there are no addresses yet, the property is located on the southwest corner of South Mooney Boulevard and West Visalia Parkway.
The mobile home park and the big box store will be less than 100 yards apart. That close proximity drove Westlake Village resident Claudia Lenoir and her partner Jill Faenza to appeal to the City Council to overturn the decision. The park’s owner has also lodged an appeal.
The appeal will be discussed by the City Council Tuesday, December 3.
Senior Neighbors Fear for their Health
The nearby light, noise and air pollution – the illnesses they might create – are why Lenoir, Faenza and park owner Jonathan Hopkin hope to prevent the project. Planning staff reviewed the plans, and according to them it meets the city’s requirements. The planning commissioners agreed, giving their approval in a split vote.
The only commissioner who hesitated was Charlie Norman. Following his no vote, Norman said he was comfortable with measures taken to mitigate environmental concerns. His worry is that a conditional use permit issued by the city is insufficient assurance the business will be operated as promised. It doesn’t give City Hall adequate power and tools to redress any issues that may arise in the future, he believes.
Lenoir said the park’s residents – all of them seniors, most of whom have health issues and live on fixed incomes – will be particularly at risk. Their health problems, she said, will be worsened by a fueling station next door. And for many of them their financial status means they cannot afford to leave.
Plan’s Opponents Allege Wrongdoing at City Hall
Lenoir also suspects some kind of collusion behind closed doors at the city’s offices. She and Faenza talked about their concerns with city councilors Liz Wynn and Brett Taylor at a League of Women Voters of Tulare County candidates forum in October. Lenoir said they were astonished to learn the issue of the appeals had apparently been discussed and decided during off-the-record discussions.
Specifically, Lenoir said Wynn admitted to what would be a violation of the Brown Act – the law that prohibits elected officials from debating a topic without prior public notice.
“She (Wynn) said, oh yeah, I’m familiar with this issue. The other members of the council and I have discussed it, and we’re OK with it,” Lenoir said. “That blew my mind. They’ve basically made up their minds before the appeal. This is before we submitted our appeals materials.”
But Lenoir’s timeline doesn’t match. The candidates forum was held on October 10. The decision of the planning commission happened four days later on October 14. Lenoir, Faenza and Hopkin had no reason at that point to make an appeal to the council.
Wynn and Taylor both deny the exchange happened as described.
“I didn’t say that,” said Wynn. “What I said to her was I was looking into it.”
Convinced the City Council will deny their appeal, Lenoir said court action lies ahead. It will be backed by the owner of the park.
“It’s pretty certain we’re going to have to take it to the mat and file a lawsuit,” she said. “Our owner has said he’ll do whatever it takes.”
Taylor Has No Financial Interest in Sam’s Club
Lenoir also said she believes Taylor will benefit financially somehow if the development goes ahead. She described him as having a conflict of interest. Taylor and the developer were in attendance at a meeting of the Westlake Village residents association to discuss the plan, and Lenoir said the group was fed false information.
“We were led to believe by Brett (Taylor) and the developer there was no threat to our wellbeing, which is patently untrue,” Lenoir said. “We believe Brett should recuse himself.”
Taylor said he was only attempting to address concerns of the residents. He met those involved in the project when he asked them to discuss their plans with the Westlake residents. He felt it would be productive to bring the parties together.
“I said we can let it play through the planning process or I can bring it to the table with the developer,” Taylor said. “I didn’t even know the developer. I said there’s a good group of people who live next door and they’re concerned. Can you meet with them? He said sure.”
But Taylor does have a deep connection to Westlake Village Mobile Park. It’s a matter of family. And he admits it does influence his thinking and behavior when acting on the city’s behalf.
“My grandpa lived there for 20 years,” he said. “I meet with Westlake Village residents very often. I come in and chat with the residents, and tell them what’s going on with the city. They are one of our more vocal communities, because they care about having good projects in Visalia.”
And that’s as far as it goes, he said. Taylor will gain or lose nothing no matter how the project plays out.
“I have received zero donations from the developer,” he said. “I don’t own it.”
Taylor: Developer Made Concessions to Ease Worries
The meeting between the project’s developers and the neighbors went extremely well, according to Taylor.
“It worked out better than I imagined,” he said. “The concessions the developer gave, I’ve never seen that kind of thing.”
Taylor said the project’s backers agreed to build a taller wall between the properties, set the gas pumps further from the property line, limit hours of delivery, use landscaping to create a buffer zone and minimize light leakage. The project applicants are Derek Finnegan and Lars Andersen and Associates of Fresno.
“He agreed to a lot of stuff he’s not required to do by law because he wants to build a project that’s good for Visalia as a whole,” Taylor said.
Lenoir doesn’t believe the meeting was so innocent.
“We were assured by Brett Taylor and the developers who appeared together at our quarterly homeowners association that everything was fine. Everything was going to be fine,” she said. “They emphasized the 8-foot wall and the landscaping. I believe talking about mitigation measures was to deflect from the fact a 28-pump gas station was going in next door.”
The opponents of the plan were unaware of the scale of the project, Lenoir said. She feels they were fooled by the city leaders.
“We don’t feel they’re honest stewards,” she said. “It’s deeply disappointing.”