by Laura Monteros

Altadena Heritage took a stand at its annual meeting Sunday to oppose a potential Walmart Neighborhood Market at the corner of Lake Avenue and Calavaras Street, but declared neutrality with the market slated to open on Lincoln Avenue next year.

Chair of the board Mark Goldschmidt presented the board’s positions at Altadena Heritage’s annual membership meeting December 16.  He said Altadena Heritage had taken a neutral stance on the Lincoln Avenue location because “it is a done deal, it is new development coming in to one of the most blighted corners in Altadena, it is largely favored by those in its immediate neighborhood, and we felt it would be a waste of our precious time to oppose this one – though we did speak with the developer, owner’s rep, and to Walmart officials and reported our conversation in a white paper.”

The board recommended opposing Walmart putting in a second Neighborhood Market on Lake and Calaveras, however. “This is the historic heart of Altadena, next to architecturally significant Marson Mayberry Eliot school and across the street from the old Mt. Lowe traction station,” Goldschmidt said. He said the county supervisor’s office contacted Altadena Heritage to talk with Walmart and the property owner’s representative, because the supervisor “is not thrilled with the prospect of a second Walmart so close to the first. We would like to take a stand in opposition to this possible development, and we put it to our members to decide whether or not to support our position.”

The membership voted in favor of opposing a Walmart development at that corner. 

Walmart has been rumored to be interested in the “Calavaras Crater” as a second Neighborhood Market location.  However, Randy Terrell of Passantino Andersen Communications, Walmart's public relations firm Steve Restivo, Walmart spokesperson, has said: “While we don't have any new sites to announce in Altadena, we're always evaluating new opportunities to be closer to our customers and be part of the solution for affordable groceries.”

Clarification: the quote from Randy Terrell was from an email sent to Eliot Gold re: unanswered questions about Walmart from ACONA (story here).  Terrell said that it was actually a quote from Walmart spokesman Steve Restivo.  While the email to Gold from Terrell did not attribute the quote to Restivo, Restivo has said the same in earlier stories, and should be considered the source of the quote.