Council Opposes Supermarket Plans

After listening for two hours to dozens of incensed residents, City Council members sent a clear message to a team of Lucky supermarket representatives: They do not want a Lucky store near Ventura College.

“I want the record to reflect that I am clearly opposed to the recommendation [to build a supermarket on that site] and am in support of fast-forwarding this so we can deal with this once and for all,” Councilman Jim Friedman said Monday night before casting his vote.

The council voted 6 to O to approve a set of measures designed to lessen potential environmental impacts on the site--with the proviso that the Planning Commission bring the Lucky project back before the council as quickly as possible so the project can be halted.

Councilman Gary Tuttle abstained from voting because a relative of his is associated with the proposed development.

Lucky Stores Inc. wants to build a 52,298-square-foot supermarket on Telegraph Road across from the college. The store would be the second largest supermarket in Ventura, open 24 hours a day.

Residents have argued repeatedly that the supermarket is unnecessary because there are already three major supermarkets nearby. They say the new project would generate excessive noise, traffic and pollution.

Resistance has been so great that city planners have had difficulty moving beyond a preliminary review of the project. City officials have held five meetings in eight months to discuss just the environmental aspects of the project.

Neighborhood activists collected more than 1,800 signatures demanding either a full-scale environmental impact report on the development or that Lucky pull the project all together.

Council members agreed that the project as it stands is ill-suited for the site, but were undecided on the best way to kill it.

The purpose of Monday night’s meeting was to decide whether a full environmental study of the project is necessary, not to judge the overall merits of having a Lucky supermarket on the site.

Rather than conduct an environmental review, Planning Commissioner Ted Temple urged the council to forward the project to the Planning Commission as quickly as possible so that a full debate on the issue can take place.

Lucky project manager Sandra Giblin said Tuesday that she did not know if Lucky would continue to press forward with the project.