• Did Someone Say "Walmart"?

The on-again off-again courtship of Walmart and Wildomar is now to the point of sh** or get off the pot.

Walmart got approvals back in 2015, and each time that their time limit was being reached, they applied for an EOT (Extension of Time). 

These guys make cats jealous.

EOTs can't go on indefinitely, and Walmart is just a few months from the last EOT expiring, March '26, I believe it is. 

A brief history of Walmart and Wildomar

Had Walmart not been on the books back when cityhood was put on the ballot, and the anticipated sales tax revenue it would bring in, LAFCO (Local Agency Formation COmission) wouldn't have approved the petitions of WIN (Wildomar Incorporate Now) and it would never have made it to the ballot back in 2008.

Back in 2015 I reported on Walmart's official approvals from the planning commission and then the city council. 

VIDEO TO 2015 MEETING BELOW

Then the project was hit with a lawsuit, and amazingly enough, it wasn't brought by any of that era's Wildomar haters. Instead, it was by someone who would follow Walmart around and look to slow their roll whenever possible.

Eventually, that gambit ran out of legal steam, and Walmart got the green light from the courts to move forward with its approved project on Bundy, east of the freeway. 

However (there always seems to be a 'however'), by the time the legal hurdles had been cleared, as it was shared with me, their business model had morphed due to Amazon's increase in market share.

So, the project was put into mothballs. Which has long been regarded as a linchpin for development in that part of town. It's been suggested that once Walmart goes in, other development will follow in behind it. 

Through the years, as each deadline for their project approached, they would file for an EOT. Makes sense considering that they'd invested a fair amount of time and money to get it approved, and it's only a pittance to get an extension.

But as stated at the top of this blog, EOTs can't go on forever and we're now in the final few months before action must begin.

I was looking for a graphic from the recent State of the City event where Walmart was mentioned as part of future development, albeit not carved in stone.

I couldn't find the city-made graphic I had in mind, so I'll make one that is an incredible simulation (lol). 

Mickey Dee's and Starbucks are already built, waiting to be finalized on the inside. Will Walmart finally make its long anticipated groundbreaking before its project deadline comes and goes?

In addition to the legal hurdles that Walmart had to get past, they had also been conditioned to do considerable amounts of infrastructure improvements on Bundy Canyon. 

Lo and behold, those are all complete now, so that burden has been lifted off their bank account's shoulders —assuming they proceed, that is... lucky them. 

Wildomar Rap opinion time

Walmart has been a hot button issue for many, for a very long time, when the topic arises. 

Several Wildomar longtimers have never wanted any growth in Wildomar, I've heard them loud and clear over the years. 

REMINDER
This project, if they actually follow through, is ALREADY approved. 

A Walmart in town will make shopping convenient for all the Wildomar residents who shop at Walmart. Then there are the projected tax revenues that will come to the city. 

If memory serves, I recall hearing that a sum of about $600,000 would have come to the city in 2008 from Walmart.

On the cusp of 2026, that doesn't sound like much, but now factor in inflation, and the additional Measure A sales tax, and that figure can't be lower than $2M today.  

For those who dislike development, I don't know what to tell you, that's always been the way of the world, especially in the USA. 

For those who understand the benefits to the community that come with commercial development, this could be the tipping point in watching Wildomar's historically woeful budget issues recede further back into history. 

From my standpoint, as a member of the City Council, I will be watching any new revenues that come in like a hawk. 

The new revenues will need to be used for the benefit of the community, not the benefit of staffing at City Hall... which I'm confident that is a shared consensus by the council, and the city manager.

If Walmart doesn't come, at least this endless danse macabre will finally be over (I think).

Below is a video I made after the January 2015 Planning Commission meeting. It's the full presentation.

Here's a link to more of the same meeting; this one is regarding public comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6GkjJYmM0s

Here's the third video from that meeting, the commission comments portion. 

If you jump down to the 10:30 mark, you'll see Commissioner Stan Smith's wise words when it comes to the sales tax that would be generated by Walmart. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHjc3fZ_Z9E

Last of the links... here's one to the 2019 blog covering a press release from the City of Wildomar stating that Walmart had chosen to sell their property.
https://wildomarrap.blogspot.com/2019/03/adios-walmart.html