Big Box Blog

This week, 4th District Supervisor Bonnie Neely received board approval to send a county letter to the city to request that Eureka re-apply for the grant to study all options for the long-vacant tract.

Residents will recall that an attempt in the late 1990s to locate a Wal-Mart there failed to muster enough votes in a ballot initiative — paid for by the retail giant — that would have changed site zoning.

Neely, who helped organize opposition to the initiative, notes that big-box development was already rejected at that site by both the voters and the state Coastal Commission, on which she now sits.

Former Eureka Mayor Nancy Flemming, considered an ally of the Arkleys, is challenging Neely this year for the 4th District seat, which covers Eureka.

So now, the county supervisors, the City Council, a former mayor and the Arkleys, known for their business development and philanthropy, are all enmeshed in what could prove to be a very interesting slow-motion but deadly serious tussle in 2006.

On one side is Neely's political survival as a supervisor and her and her allies' views on the Eureka waterfront. On the other is the Arkleys' ability to use their vast resources to shape their own bayfront development dream, through the City Council, the city and state planning process and other means.

Current Mayor Peter LaVallee has noted that the property is the largest undeveloped piece of land in the city and that its fate is of great significance to all residents. That's true. But he's also up for re-election
this year, and will likely face a candidate supported by the Arkleys, as he narrowly defeated Cherie Arkley for the mayor's seat in 2002.

It's uncertain where the public stands in all this. That includes city merchants, who have yet to weigh in on a Home Depot in their midst.

One thing's clear: It will be fascinating to watch the various separate but intertwined contests unfold — including the supervisor's race, the mayor's race and the big-box development proposal — over the next few months.