Wal-Mart expansion in Ukiah clears another hurdle

The Ukiah City Council Wednesday night affirmed the environmental certification of a proposed Wal-Mart expansion.

The city's planning commission certified the impact analysis last month but the decision was appealed by opponents of the project. Ukiah Mayor Mary Anne Landis said Thursday the report was imperfect but adequate to assess the impacts of the expansion, some of which are significant and unavoidable.

Those impacts, which primarily revolve around traffic, will be considered when the Planning Commission considers a permit for the project on Jan. 25.

To approve a permit to increase the size of the store from 109,030 square feet to 156,651 square feet, the commission must conclude that the project's benefits to the community outweigh its impacts.

Expanding the Wal-Mart into a 24-hour superstore with a full supermarket is expected to cause traffic to back up onto Highway 101 at the Talmage Road exit. The road improvements needed to offset the impacts likely would cost $5 million to $10 million, money that is not available to the city, city officials have said.