Some interesting notes from the Vacaville Reporter on Fairfield and Wal-Mart.
Apparently Wal Mart has a store that they are closing down at one location and want to buy a new store--a SUPER store--at another location. A 200,000-square-foot SUPER STORE.
Currently there is a Shopping Center there that would be destroyed and the residents were upset about the location for the wall near a residential area and two schools. And they met until 1 a.m. Sounds familiar.
There are two things of great interest from the standpoint of Davis. First, is that Wal-Mart was closing their current store regardless of how the council voted. So they basically threatened the city council with the loss of $400,000 in annual sales tax if they did not approve the new supercenter.
It is worth noting that in August the city passed an ordinance that limits the size of retail projects in Fairfield to 80,000 square feet. So just four months later, Wal-Mart is able to force the hands of the city to get what they want.
Second, is that $400,000 figure in annual sales tax, which is two-thirds of the projected Target sales tax in Davis.
That leads me to a number of questions. What is the comparison in size between the existing Wal-Mart on Chadbourne Road and the proposed Target in Davis? Why is the tax revenue for a Fairfield Wal-Mart only two-thirds of the projected revenue for a Davis Target?
In any case, this illustrates for the Davis community the fundamental problem of big-box retail stores--once they come in, they have tremendous power to dictate their terms and they can basically threaten the City Council with the loss of huge revenue to get what they want. Or they can go elsewhere and the city loses a sizable tax base. All of these promises that the council has made regarding this development seem questionable at best. Look at Fairfield, just four months after passing an ordinance to limit the size of new retail development, they grant an exception.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
Apparently Wal Mart has a store that they are closing down at one location and want to buy a new store--a SUPER store--at another location. A 200,000-square-foot SUPER STORE.
Currently there is a Shopping Center there that would be destroyed and the residents were upset about the location for the wall near a residential area and two schools. And they met until 1 a.m. Sounds familiar.
There are two things of great interest from the standpoint of Davis. First, is that Wal-Mart was closing their current store regardless of how the council voted. So they basically threatened the city council with the loss of $400,000 in annual sales tax if they did not approve the new supercenter.
It is worth noting that in August the city passed an ordinance that limits the size of retail projects in Fairfield to 80,000 square feet. So just four months later, Wal-Mart is able to force the hands of the city to get what they want.
Second, is that $400,000 figure in annual sales tax, which is two-thirds of the projected Target sales tax in Davis.
That leads me to a number of questions. What is the comparison in size between the existing Wal-Mart on Chadbourne Road and the proposed Target in Davis? Why is the tax revenue for a Fairfield Wal-Mart only two-thirds of the projected revenue for a Davis Target?
In any case, this illustrates for the Davis community the fundamental problem of big-box retail stores--once they come in, they have tremendous power to dictate their terms and they can basically threaten the City Council with the loss of huge revenue to get what they want. Or they can go elsewhere and the city loses a sizable tax base. All of these promises that the council has made regarding this development seem questionable at best. Look at Fairfield, just four months after passing an ordinance to limit the size of new retail development, they grant an exception.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
