The month of May marks the third year in which the space at Westlake Plaza that used to be occupied by Rays and then Food Fair lay vacant. In this space we have criticized the city of Davis for dragging its feet in terms of putting pressure on the owners to comply with current zoing and general plan requirements that the space be occupied by a grocery store.
That has slowly changed with the efforts of DANG (Davis Advocates for Neighborhood Groceries) and articles that have been run by the Vanguard to put pressure on the city of Davis and ownership to finally bring a store there.
Owners have in the past attempted to circumvent this process by petitioning the Planning Commission to reduce the required size of a grocery store to 3000 feet which would make it basically a convenience store. To their credit, the commission steadfastly refused to do so.
Last week, Councilmembers Souza and Heystek submitted a resolution that will affirm the Davis City Council’s support for the general plan’s neighborhood shopping center concept. The importance of that duo’s submission is important for it assures its passage.
It also makes it unambiguously clear to the owners that they will not be able to force council or the Planning Commission to support a small grocer at that location.
First, they re-affirm their support for the principles of smart planning:
“the City of Davis prides itself on utilizing the principles of smart planning, including the “neighborhood shopping centers” concept, to have a more livable community that encourages walking and the use of the bicycle”
Next they support the General Plan’s immplementation of the concept of neighborhood shopping centers:
“in its “Principles Used in Creating Land Use Map” (pp. 56-7), the Davis General Plan implements the concept of neighborhood shopping centers as part of its foundation for land use planning in Davis”
Moreover:
“the West Davis neighborhoods, including Stonegate and Village Homes, were built with the neighborhood shopping center concept in mind, leading to the development of the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center on Lake Boulevard”
They also remind of the zoning requirements for Westlake:
“the zoning for the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center includes a requirement that the center contain a grocery store of no fewer than 15,000 square feet”
Just as important they specify the fact that there are prospective established grocers with interest in locating at Westlake:
Davis Advocates for Neighborhood Groceries has worked diligently to recruit a new grocery tenant for Westlake Plaza, and have confirmed that more than one established grocer is interested in locating in West Davis.
Finally the resolution reaffirms support for both the neighborhood shopping center concept and maintaining the current zoning requirement.
“the Davis City Council reaffirms its support of the City’s General Plan’s neighborhood shopping center concept…
“the Davis City Council reaffirms its support to preserve the zoning requirement at Westlake Plaza specifying the inclusion of a minimum 15,000 square-foot grocery store…”
Moreover, the council pledges to devote city resources to support such an endeavor:
“the Davis City Council pledges to devote City resources, as part of a coherent economic development strategy, to support neighborhood efforts to recruit a grocery store tenant at Westlake Plaza.”
The importance of this resolution is underscored by the fact that the council will unambiguously support the efforts of DANG to bring a grocer of the proper size into Westlake. This should indicate to the current ownership that they will not be able to wait until the Planning Commission agrees to reduce the requirements for a store.
Hopefully the council will pass this resolution unanimously.
The resolution will likely be heard sometime in June probably around the same time that the council has concrete options put on the table. From our standpoint there are several that ought to be considered. One is that the council and city should enforce the zoning and blight ordinances already in the books. The owners have filled in the cargo bay which seems a clear intent to violate city ordinance. They have stripped out the infrastructure of the store. They have allowed the building to decay and degenerate. All of this we have showed in the past with pictorial evidence. But the city needs to press the owners to make this happen.
The city has other abilities to perhaps move this through either by placing this into a Redevelopment Agency or guarantee a loan to bring in a new grocer.
What is increasingly clear is that after three years, thanks largely to the efforts of DANG and other citizens, the city is finally getting serious and moving to address this problem.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
someone should really pound a big sign that says BLIGHT into the rubble on that loading dock, or hang similar homemade banners along the vacant, boarded-up storefront, and see how long it stays there.
Congratulations to DANG and Carolyn Hinshaw for keeping the pressure on. It’s also about time that the 5th Street Corridor Plan that neighbors in that area have worked hard to develop gets City Council approval.
It seems the City Council won’t act unless one or another group of residents keep up the pressure, do their own research and study, and present a plan and campaign for resolution. Meanwhile, the Council spends time and money for yet more studies and fails. Years pass by.
In each case, business interests (Westlake and for 5th Street,the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business Association)are allowed by the Council to prevail over the interests of residents and neighborhoods.
It time our electeds represent us, the people
Nancy
DANG’s advocacy seems like something of an uphill fight, given that in the past ten years, Ray’s has closed at Westlake, Ralph’s has closed at Davis Manor, and Harvest Market has closed at University Mall. In fact there seems to be a fair amount of extra retail space across Davis right now. Surely the developers have a good argument for converting some of it.
If I could suggest a project for DANG, it would be to improve bicycle parking and bicycle traffic separation at The Marketplace. I live west of 113, between Westlake and The Marketplace, and that is what I would really like to see.
I can see why DANG would want something better to happen to Westlake than what has been happening, but asking for a real supermarket that is to compete with Safeway seems like a tall order. I don’t see that DANG can promise that enough West Davis residents would shop there. What might work better is a combination deli and food store, something in between (say) Zia’s and Trader Joe’s.
Zia’s is great and Trader Joe’s is, well, Trader Joe’s: selfish. We don’t need these kind of stores in Westlake Plaza. We need a good grocery store. I applaud DANG’s efforts. West Davis, as those who have been paying attention know, is going to grow even more with UCD’s plan to build more housing in the not so distant future. Now is the time for a good quality grocery store to locate in West Davis. We should not have to wait until all of the development is done and then say “we need a grocery store.” Thank you DANG for keeping the pressure on council to do the right thing. And thanks to the Vanguard for reporting on this important issue.
Our useless city leaders have done it to themselves(and to us!) in that, for too long, they have done nothing. After all these YEARS, the scumbag owner can point to years of inaction(has he even been issued ONE citation for any violation? Ever?) by this city and now he has some legal standing and can probably claim selective enforcement or some other discriminatory crap and then just continue to let the place rot. Who is up for a bonfire??
“I can see why DANG would want something better to happen to Westlake than what has been happening, but asking for a real supermarket that is to compete with Safeway seems like a tall order.”
Greg, I don’t think you were on here when it was reported that there was at least one grocer who wanted to locate here but there were snafu’s with financing. I believe they still want to come here.
I don’t think that it’s as simple as “keeping the pressure”, but in the end I’m not against DANG’s ultimate goal. If there were a good supermarket at Westlake, or a good store of any kind, then I’d be all for it, because for sure the empty space that is there now isn’t a win for anybody.
Comments like the one posted at 12:01pm don’t help anything either. It may be time to restrict comments on this site to registered users. That is the policy at DavisWiki; why not here?
Greg: It’s always been our policy to have open comments. The discussions at times get heated but for the most part having open posting has never been a large enough problem to change things. I know, for instance, when Matt Rexroad when to required registration for his blog, his comments dropped off to almost nill. He had a good reason for doing it given his position, I have not to this point in time.
I think the comment at 12:01 pm demonstrates some of the frustration people feel in this community. As long as there are not personal attacks directed toward people posting on this blog or private citizens in the community, then the policy here has been to leave these uncensored.
That said, I do think it’s worth noting that when people post, they are agreeing to the terms of usage. I suggest that people make sure they periodically read those terms of usage.
[quote]After all these YEARS, the scumbag owner can point to years of inaction(has he even been issued ONE citation for any violation? Ever?)[/quote]By having no tenant in that space, the owner of the property has lost approximately $1,080,000 in rents which he can never, ever get back. (36 months time $30,000/month.) You think they need a city citation of $250 for blight would make a difference?
Also, since Food Fair vacated in May, 2006, the owners have invested (according to what one of the owners told me) something like* $200,000 in improvements.
I assume the (Vanguard’s) reports about a failed deal with a Bay Area grocer 6 months ago were true. They didn’t make the Westlake owners look good. They seemed to have an agreement, but the property owners did not uphold their end of the bargain. Thus it appears they are not interested in obtaining a new tenant, or that financing improvements (even up to the level the site was in when FF left) for a new tenant are impossible in this economy. Either way, I fail to see what the city of Davis government can do with citations to give the owners an even greater incentive to bring in a market.
* I don’t recall the exact figure. It’s been a few years since I spoke with the owner.
David: I am totally in favor of “open” comments, in the sense of not restricted to specific people. Open, however, is not the same as unregistered. Unregistered comments is a policy that does not scale, except in a system such as Wikipedia in which erasing comments scales up with entering them.
As for the comment at 12:01, calling the owner a “scumbag” clearly is a personal attack, even if arguably an owner who lives in the Bay Area is not a member of the Davis community. The comment could also be read as hinting at arson. Even if that was meant only as a criticism and not really as a threat, that seems even more egregious than merely a personal insult.
[i]Greg, I don’t think you were on here when it was reported that there was at least one grocer who wanted to locate here but there were snafu’s with financing. I believe they still want to come here.[/i]
I was not following this blog at the time, but I have read the account on the DANG web site and I also looked at the version posted to Davis Vanguard. This “snafu with financing” looks like a serious matter to me. It’s a basic question of who is going to pay to renovate the shopping center.
I have to say that DANG has taken a very accusatory approach in its negotiations and in its account on its web site. It has said that everything is the owner’s fault and that the owner acts in bad faith. If it is right, then there won’t be a supermarket any time soon; if it is wrong, then laying the blame this thick can only make a supermarket less likely.
Again, I have nothing against any particular new store at Westlake Plaza. It’s all fine by me, and anything else would be better than just empty rooms.
I am obviously very naive, because I don’t understand nor see the need for a Westlake grocery store that nobody wants.
I would prefer having a Trader Joe store in a central location rather than
another second rate clothing store for teenagers, the apparent choice for the former local Gottschalk emporium.
What do you think of this?
“I don’t understand nor see the need for a Westlake grocery store that nobody wants. “
I think your premise is completely wrong here–what evidence do you have that nobody wants it? Are you referring to the people of west Davis, the potential grocers, or the owners? As far as I can tell the only people who don’t seem to want it are the owners.
If I inadvertently ask for an e-mail subscription, is there any way to turn it off without posting a comment?
The DANG board is grateful for the interest and support we have received from all five council members to get a neighborhood grocery store located at the Westlake Shopping Center. We are pleased with the Council intent to re-confim the zoning requirement for a grocery store at the center. The Westlake Shopping Center will die as a retail center without the traffic created by a grocery store. That requirement was in place when the owner bought the center and will if all goes well, remain in place as part of hood neighborhood planning. One by one the retail stores close at Westlake.
We gathered over 1,000 signatures in favor of a neighborhood grocery store and a number of potential grocers have shown interest.
DANG continues to do its best to promote a vibrant shopping center to serve the needs of the 13,000 people in West Davis and nearby. With the right grocer, people will come and shop from many parts of Davis.
We thank the members of the City Council for beginning the steps to revitalize the Westlake Shopping Center.
Working together we can bring it back to life.
Some observations from a long-time West Davis resident:
— History has shown that a poorly run supermarket will not do well at Westlake Plaza.
— History has also shown that a well-run market can operate at Westlake at a profit, as grocery novice Al Smith did with “Farmtown” when a lot less people lived here.
— DANG has proven that there are legitimate grocers interested in Westlake if offered reasonable rents.
— The Westlake landlord turned his grocery store site into an empty shell. He cannot expect any renter, grocer or not, to come in and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore the space to habitability. That was recently validated when the Davis Public Library, hunting for temporary space, ruled out Westlake because of the time and expense involved to make the space functional again.
— Kudos to DANG and the Davis Vanguard for exposing the facts and keeping the pressure on to restore a vital community resource.
Westlake and Davis Manor show that retail wants to be located on arterial streets, NOT interior hidden streets. Westlake is on a poorly designed, hard to access/locate corridor. (OK I know you guys in west davis can find it, but those of us from central/east/south davis get lost and end up at the Hospital or the Junior High.) The owner is part of the problem, but LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION is the real problem. Right place, but poor access/visibility. That’s why so many West Davisites find it simpler to shop at the MArketplace on Covell and the 113.
NOt sure that the city can fix what it did wrong to begin with in locating this and the manor shopping plazas.
I think poorly run places fail regardless, look at University Mall and their problems keeping anchors.
To Rich Rifkin’s comment about the shopping center owners spending an estimated (he thinks) $200,000 on fixing up the center: By his own admission, the center owner virtually ignored the center for many years, allowing it to fall into disrepair. Yes, there has been some cosmetic changes in the last year or so, but it’s mostly deferred maintenance. It’s also been done in dribs and drabs, which lends credence to reports that the fix-ups are being done at a bargain rate and with surplus materials from other projects. My guess is that the $200,000 figure (or whatever it is) is grossly inflated.
If the current owner really has spent $200K to improve the cosmetics of Westlake, it is about DANG time! He didn’t change a light bulb for the first 9-10 years he owned it! This was his cash cow and now he has let it starve to death. I’d bet he collected significantly more than $200K in common are maintenance (CAM) fees from his tenants over those years!
Regarding the “Location, location, location” argument . . . enough already! We have had two very interested grocers tell us that they would be profitable at Westlake. When I asked Delano’s that specific question they said they “would be profitable on day two”. Also when Farmtown Market was functioning it was profitable. Al Smith didn’t want to be a grocer, so he sold the grocery to Ray’s. Ray’s is headquartered/warehoused in Oregon and had supply issues that this furthest southern location in their chain could not support.
And when Farmtown/Ray’s were operating many county and Winters residents shopped there rather than hassle the crowded Marketplace parking lot and the inconvenient access off of Covell.