California City May Stop Wal-Mart By Taking Its Land

"While other cities have rejected Wal-Mart store proposals, the Hercules City Council is to vote Tuesday on whether to begin eminent domain proceedings to forcibly take 17.27 acres from the company, which wants to put a big-box store near an upscale new residential neighborhood next to San Pablo Bay."

"The possibility of the city using of eminent domain comes after the retailer rejected its offer to buy the land earlier this year, and a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that local government can force property owners to sell out to make way for private development that city officials determine would benefit the public.

Wal-Mart promises to put up a fight that will cost the city dearly."

"But opponents repeatedly have criticized the company's business practices, calling the company 'predatory,' and saying they would prefer trendy grocery stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Andronico's, and specialty shops like those in Berkeley's swank Fourth Street district.

Such retail offerings seem appropriate to them for a city that is widely touted as a leading example of New Urbanism for its redevelopment of nearly 430 acres of former industrial land according to principles designed to reduce the need for automobiles."