Two sides to Wal-Mart story

Andrew Wainer

Although the Save Crest View and Save Our Schools campaigns are on

opposites sides of Measure I -- the March ballot initiative that will

decide if Wal-Mart will be able to build a store on Talbert Avenue -- the

groups’ campaign rhetoric is remarkably alike.

Members of both movements speak in grandiose terms about the March 7

election. That’s when voters will decide if the former Crest View school

site will be zoned commercial or residential.

School officials said the project would bring the city much-needed

revenue to fix its campuses, and the city would benefit from sales tax

revenue.

“This is a battle between David and Goliath,” said Marvin Josephson, Save

Crest View’s chairman.

Josephson has led hundreds of residents, most from the Crest View

neighborhood, on a crusade to keep Wal-Mart from leasing the site from

the Ocean View School District. He said the campaign began in 1995 after

the city zoned the property commercial, violating the will of

neighborhood residents.

“We are people who are fed up with the city doing projects that are

against its own citizens’ quality of life,” Josephson said.

Josephson, a Huntington Beach engineer, said his group is made up of

people “from all walks of life” who are united in fighting the city’s

tyranny. Many members are concerned about what living across the street

from a Wal-Mart might mean.

“It will flood the area with traffic,” Save Crest View member Robert

Cronk said.

Although most Save Crest View members cite the traffic and congestion

Wal-Mart would bring to the neighborhood, biologist Connie Boardman said

environmental concerns led her to join the group.

“I read the environmental-impact report [for the Wal-Mart project], and I

didn’t like what I saw,” Boardman said. “A Wal-Mart doesn’t belong

there.”

Those seeking to keep the Crest View site a commercial zone so it can be

leased to Wal-Mart are equally convinced of their mission. Their zeal is

evident in the name of their campaign: Save Our Schools.

“We’re doing it for the kids,” said Tracy Pellman, co-chairwoman of Save

Our Schools. “We come from a variety of backgrounds, but our focus is on

the children.”

Most Save Our Schools members say leasing the Crest View site to Wal-Mart

would bring a cornucopia of benefits for Huntington Beach youth.

“We need more facilities for kids,” Save Our Schools member Chuck

Beauregard said.

Beauregard said the city’s lack of recreation and sporting facilities for

children, something he said would be remedied through the revenue stream

Wal-Mart would provide.

Ocean View School District officials said leasing the site to Wal-Mart

would give them the money they need to secure matching modernization

funds from the state.

Save Our Schools campaign member Donna Alexander said the district’s

students are “what is really at stake” on March 7.

“This is an issue that will make a difference,” Alexander said. “Kids

need to know that they are in a safe environment at school.”

District officials said its schools need about $30 million in repairs.

With the lines clearly drawn, both groups are now focused on campaigning.

Save Crest View members said they are attending City Council meetings to

get the word out, but Josephson added that they are still planning what

to do in the run up to the vote.

“We have meetings on a need-to basis,” Josephson said. “Sometimes there

are over 300 people there.”

Save Our Schools, on the other hand, has hired a paid consultant and is

organizing a variety of informational events. The group’s campaign

kickoff in November at the Waterfront Hilton drew about 60 people,

organizers said.

Save Our Schools volunteers are passing out fliers, talking to parents

and organizing press conferences.

Both sides will get the chance to match their wits during a debate that

will be taped tonight and aired on HBTV-3 next month.