City manager won't participate in Wal-Mart debate

By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Thursday, July 26, 2007 12:03 AM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD -- For the first time in his 22-year career with the city of Carlsbad, City Manager Ray Patchett is recusing himself from a development proposal because of a conflict of interest.

Patchett owns 215 shares of Wal-Mart stock in a retirement account. Because of this, he will not "participate in any manner whatsoever" as the city reviews Wal-Mart's recently announced plans to build a store at El Camino Real and College Boulevard, he wrote in a memo to the city's Community Development Director.

"I could sell the stock, but I don't want to," Patchett said Wednesday.

The stock, which he purchased in 2000, is a good investment in a well-managed company, he said. Its current estimated value is just over $10,000, he added.

Patchett said he discussed the situation with Carlsbad City Attorney Ronald Ball last week, but knew even before that conversation that he had a conflict.

"It was clear ... I didn't need the city attorney's advice to step out of this process," he said.

Ball confirmed that a conflict of interest exists.

"There are several thresholds," he said as he discussed state laws regarding conflict-of-interest situations.

First, a person must have an economic interest --- such as owning a company's stock, he said. The value of that economic interest must be worth more than $2,000 under state law.

And, the action that's before the city must be of significant financial value --- say the construction of an entire store rather than just the addition of a window or an extra restroom, he said.

Patchett's case meets all these standards, Ball said.

The issue first came up when Patchett was invited to attend a July 17 meeting between Wal-Mart officials and City Council members.

Last week, the city's Planning Department director told the North County Times that Wal-Mart officials hadn't yet met with his department, saying this was unusual for a developer. Community Development Director Sandra Holder said Wednesday that community development and planning department staffers were not at the meeting and didn't know about it until after it happened.

Last week's meeting was the city's first introduction to Wal-Mart's plans and the company plans a second visit to Carlsbad next week to meet with city staff members, Holder said.

The company purchased the 17-acre site in May. A company official has said Wal-Mart wants to put its most upscale store in the nation on the vacant parcel. Plans call for the store to sell $100 bottles of wine and designer clothing, Wal-Mart spokesman Aaron Rios said last week. He declined to give a proposed square footage for the store.

City officials have said that whatever the company plans will have to fit with Carlsbad's strict shopping center zoning, which aims to prevent solitary "big box" stores from being built. Among the requirements is that the property would need to contain at least two other storefronts in addition to the Wal-Mart structure.

The plans also will need to go before both the city's Planning Commission and the City Council.

Patchett said he will step away from the dais during City Council meetings on the topic, and will not attend any city staff meetings regarding Wal-Mart's plans.

Instead, Holder will handle "all aspects of this potential development proposal" with assistance from Assistant City Manager Lisa Hildabrand, he wrote in a staff memo.

-- Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.