Bill Rautenstrauch

Staff Writer

ISLAND CITY Coming soon to Island City: a bigger, better Wal-Mart store.

At a public hearing Wednesday before the Island City common council, Wal-Mart representatives made a lengthy presentation on plans to expand the current store on Island Avenue.

The representatives were seeking and received approval of three applications related to a project that has been long anticipated in the community.

"We’ve had expansion in mind since we built the current store in 1992," said Mike Connors, an attorney with Davis, Wright Tremaine, Wal-Mart’s legal representatives.

The applications were for Type II development review, conditional use and an adjustment related to bicycle parking.

The expansion project, which includes demolition of the Shop’n Kart store next door to Wal-Mart, likely will begin this summer.

"I can’t give you a timeline, but my best guess (for a starting date) is June, with completion taking about a year," Dean Logsdon of CLC Developers said after the hearing.

Plans outlined by CLC call for expansion of the current Wal-Mart building from 78,000 square feet to about 182,000 square feet.

The new store will include a grocery section, expanded general retail space, an expanded garden center and the addition of a seasonal, outdoor garden center.

Logsden said the expanded Wal-Mart building has design and landscaping features more attractive than other supercenters in the region.

"This is going to be the best looking store in Eastern Oregon," he told the council.

Parking will be increased to 880 stalls, exceeding a development code requirement of 599.

A mini-storage facility to the south will also be demolished to make room for expansion. Also to the south, access to the Assembly of God church will be rerouted.

Existing church parking will be paved or relocated. Logsdon said landscaping features around the church will be added, and a wall will be built to screen the church from the store.

Also, Wal-Mart will make improvements to the church’s water infrastructure, providing for storm water drainage and adding a fire hydrant.

Logsdon and Kevin Picanco, a CLC traffic engineer, spent considerable time addressing traffic and access issues that were crucial to approval of the conditional use permit.

Much of the discussion centered on a future need for dual left turn lanes from Walton Road on to Island Avenue. Walton Road borders the shopping complex’s east side.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has said the dual lanes will need to be constructed at the intersection sometime between now and 2024, a horizon year in a traffic study performed by CLC.

Picanco said Wal-Mart agrees to shoulder a share of the cost of rebuilding the intersection.

"We’re proposing we contribute our proportional share at the time the improvements are needed," Picanco said.

ODOT also sees a possible future need for construction of a right turn lane at the driveway leading into the shopping complex from Island Avenue.

According to a letter drafted by Region 5 Engineer Thomas Kuhlman, the right turn lane will be required if a crash problem develops at the entrance.

In addition to agreeing to ODOT requirements, the developers also agreed to a condition that continuous bike paths be constructed along Walton Road.

The developers and the city also hammered out an agreement on location of bike stalls.

Island City’s comprehensive plan requires that such stalls be located no more than 50 feet from a store entrance; Wal-Mart sought and was granted an adjustment that would allow the stalls to be 75 feet from an entrance.

During his portion of the presentation, Logsdon addressed the loss of jobs associated with the demolition of the Shop’n Kart.

He said the expansion project will meet city requirements for job creation.

"One hundred and fifty and maybe 200 jobs will be created. The jobs that are lost at Shop’n Kart will be greatly offset," he said.

When Mayor Dale DeLong called for public testimony, no one spoke in opposition to the project.

Steve Lovin, manager of the current Wal-Mart store, and Tim Clark of the Walton Road Sears store, spoke in support.

"Wal-Mart is very compassionate and wants to do what’s right for the community," Lovin said, citing several community activities the store has involved itself with.

Lovin added that he thinks the project will be an economic benefit to the community.

"It is an advantage, not only because of more jobs, but through our wage and benefit package that is competitive in this market."

Clark said he thinks the expansion will stimulate business in the area.

"We welcome it. It can only bring more people," he said.

Last year CLC Associates unveiled plans for a mixed-use, residential and commercial village on an approximately 70-acre parcel of land owned by local contractor Mike Becker.

The land, across from the current Wal-Mart store, straddles a line between Island City and La Grande. A Wal-Mart supercenter was proposed for the La Grande side.

In order for the project to proceed, both cities would have had to expand their urban growth boundaries, annex land and make zone changes.

Various applications filed with the cities of La Grande and Island City by CLC were later withdrawn.

The former proposal was vigorously opposed by local members of Oregon Rural Action.

Following testimony Wednesday, the council voted, with little discussion, for approval of all the applications. The vote was unanimous.

DeLong thanked Wal-Mart for applications that thoroughly addressed all issues.

"As far as answering the questions, this is the best application I’ve ever seen," he said.

He added, "I’ll think we’ll have a very good relationship with

Wal-Mart."