Council OKs Zoning for Wal-Mart Center

Closing a raucous chapter in Simi Valley’s planning history, the City Council on Monday gave final approval to west-end zoning changes that will allow construction of a shopping center anchored by a Wal-Mart store.

The council voted 4 to 1 in favor of the changes, which allow developer Stan Rothbart to build stores smaller than 70,000 square feet to surround two larger anchor stores--one of which he has said will be a Wal-Mart store. Councilwoman Barbara Williamson opposed the decision.

Businesses, labor unions and even the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce had fought the zoning change. They argued first that Wal-Mart would hurt small businesses and bring low-paying jobs to Simi Valley, then that the shopping center in general would remove vital industrial space from the city’s supply of developable land.

After a noisy public hearing two weeks ago on Rothbart’s zoning request and other west-end land-use issues, the council gave its preliminary approval on a 4-1 vote, with Williamson as the only opponent.

On Monday night, the council voted on a version of the plan that had been finalized by city staff to reflect changes that were hammered out during the earlier hearing that lasted more than six hours.