Less than a year after the Santa Maria City Council said it would not make land-use changes to allow Wal-Mart to build a controversial “super center” in town, the big-box retailer purchased property in Orcutt, just outside the city limits.

Known in the Orcutt Community Plan as Key Site 26, the 51.5-acre site is east of Highway 135 along Orcutt Road, south of Foster Road and west of Hummel Drive. The proposed extension of Union Valley Parkway runs through the site.

The property, which is three parcels, was purchased by the Bentonville, Ark., company in late September 2006, according to Santa Barbara County Assessor's records. The property was sold by trustees of the Richards Family Trust.

Despite repeated calls, a Wal-Mart spokesman contacted Friday did not return comments about the company's plans for the property by late Monday.

Rumors of the property's sale to Wal-Mart have been circulating through Orcutt since the fall. One thread of speculation is that the site will be used for a warehouse.

Orcutt resident Don Ward said he thought a warehouse would not be a good use of the site since it could bring tremendous amounts of truck traffic.

“The traffic and noise would not be beneficial for Orcutt residents,” he said, and added that he plans to follow the issue.

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He scoffed at the idea of a store at that location, saying it would be impractical.

In fall 2005, Wal-Mart officials submitted an application to Santa Maria asking to change the zoning of 55 acres along West Betteravia Road, from light industrial to commercial use. Additionally, the company asked the council to consider altering an ordinance that limits the amount of grocery and pharmaceutical products in a store of more than 90,000 square feet.

In November 2005, the council said it would not support the zone change and was uninterested in altering the ordinance. The issue brought out both fierce opposition and support of Wal-Mart and saw more than 200 people attend the public hearing.

At the time, company officials said they were looking at the West Betteravia site for a 200,000 square-foot “super center” store that would include general merchandise and a full-service grocery store.

City staff members brought a preliminary inquiry for Wal-Mart to the council to determine members' opinion of the idea.

The company has smaller general merchandise stores in Santa Maria and Lompoc already.

Following the rejection, company officials would not reveal whether they were looking at property elsewhere except to say Wal-Mart would “continue to look at opportunities to expand our service to our customers.”

In December 2006, Wal-Mart officials began preliminary talks with Lompoc city staff exploring the idea of a super center in that community on 37 acres on West Central Avenue. At the time, both sides acknowledged it would be years before a plan developed.

The property in Orcutt is zoned for retail commercial use, said county planner Brian Tetley. He noted that the site's specific plan, approved in the 1980s, calls for residential uses, but it was never been put into effect.

Looking at the county's database, Tetley said, there appear to be no current applications regarding the site.

As with any development in Orcutt, the property is constrained by requirements within the Orcutt Community Plan such as the need for a supplemental water source.

Orcutt developers have a history of turning to Santa Maria to purchase water, but obtaining water from the city for retail development has been difficult. City officials have refused to sell water to commercial projects, to avoid competition with Santa Maria retailers and loss of sales tax revenue to the county.

Developers of Orcutt Plaza, which would be built near College Drive and Santa Maria Way, are working on annexing into Santa Maria after years of delay in buying supplemental water.

City Manager Tim Ness said no one has approached the city about water for Key Site 26, but he noted the circumstances to purchase water would be similar to Orcutt Plaza.

Even if Wal-Mart tried to annex into the city, similar to Orcutt Plaza, he added, Santa Maria still has its big-box ordinance to contend with.

Fourth District Supervisor Joni Gray, who represents Orcutt, said she has not heard about any plans for Key Site 26.

“Wal-Mart has not called and said, ‘Dear Supervisor Gray, we want to build a Wal-Mart in Orcutt,'” she quipped.

She did not know what the company would do with its property, though she said she would support whatever development the community wants on the site.

“But my best guess is (Orcutt residents) aren't going to want that,” she said.

Malia Spencer can be reached at 739-2219 or mspencer@santa

mariatimes.com.

June 12, 2007