Developers hope an alternative location for a proposed new Social Security Administation field office in Visalia has smoother sailing than their first option.

Project Manager Joe Cusenza of Visalia and contractor Mike Fistolera met today with officials from the city's engineering, public works, planning and building departments to go over plans for the new site, on Noble Avenue just east of Lovers Lane.

The 12,585-square foot building is intended to replace the federal agency's current 1970s-era building at Court Street and Murray Avenue in downtown Visalia.

The Imperial Group of La Jolla originally wanted to build its project on Lovers Lane, south of Tulare Avenue, but that site ran into pitched opposition from nearby residents who feared the additional traffic and the clientele that the office would attract to their neighborhood.

Will the new site fare any better? Let's hear what you think. It's just across a driveway from Visalia's Wal-Mart store, and there's a greater distance from any homes than the Lovers Lane site. And it's closer to downtown Visalia -- a big issue for city officials who joined in the opposition to Lovers Lane.

But there are concerns, too: Traffic is already a mess at Noble Avenue at Ben Maddox Way as well as the nearby Highway 198 interchange, and there's a question about transit service that only runs one way, from west to east, on that stretch of Noble.

The public will definitely have a chance to voice its opinions; because the building will be a government office, city zoning laws require a special permit that can only be granted by the Visalia Planning Commission after a public hearing.

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