SIMI VALLEY : Wal-Mart Agrees to Nov. 2 Vote on Store

Wal-Mart executives agreed Wednesday to proceed with a Nov. 2 ballot measure that could pave the way for construction of a large discount store in Simi Valley, city officials said.

A ballot measure proposed by Wal-Mart was changed by the City Council last month, and the Arkansas-based retailer needed to notify the city by 5 p.m. Wednesday if it wanted to remove the measure, as rewritten, from the ballot. Wal-Mart has paid an $84,000 deposit to cover costs associated with the election.

Shortly before 5 p.m., the retail chain told the city it would proceed with the vote, said Laura Kuhn, Simi Valley’s deputy director of advanced planning.

The retail chain is considering a 32-acre parcel north of the Simi Valley Freeway, just east of 1st Street, next to land the city has reserved for a regional mall that has been stalled by the sluggish economy.

Under city planning rules, the mall must be built before any nearby stores. The ballot measure will let voters decide whether a large store, such as the proposed Wal-Mart, can be built in this area before the mall.

Wal-Mart’s original measure also covered many design issues, such as landscaping, lighting, parking, signs and drainage requirements. The council discarded these issues, saying the binding measure should only focus on one question: Can a large retail store be built before the regional mall?

Even if voters support the Wal-Mart plan in November, the project will have to undergo six to 18 months of review by Simi Valley planners and elected officials before construction could begin, Kuhn said.