Petaluma tightens standards for large retail commercial developments

The Petaluma City Council on Monday approved a zoning amendment that would require large retail store developments to obtain conditional use permits and undergo full environmental review, which in turn could greatly delay the construction of stores like the proposed Home Depot at the city’s Plaza North.

The zoning changes, which were approved in a 6-1 vote at Monday night’s City Council meeting, will require discretionary review for land uses in General Retail, Grocery and Building and Landscape Materials Sales zoning areas of more than 25,000 square feet.

The changes also mean businesses must obtain a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission, which allows city officials to “analyze the appropriateness of the proposed use” in order to “mitigate impacts and ensure that the commercial land use has a net positive community impact.”

“This amendment is not targeting a specific business or store location,” said city planning manager Andrew Trippel. He added it would require discretionary review for new commercial businesses at at least seven general retail locations along the East Washington business corridor, about 10 locations throughout the McDowell Boulevard business corridor and at least five other locations in various parts of the city.

The zoning amendment is expected to first affect the proposed Home Depot meant for the former KMart site in the 19-acre Plaza North Shopping Center at 261 North McDowell Boulevard. If approved, the project would consist of a 107,891-square foot main building and a 28,216-square foot garden center.

The Plaza North Shopping Center is home to more than two dozen businesses including Hunan Village, Gold n’ Time Jewelers, Fuji Sushi and Club Pilates Petaluma. Their owners and others in the shopping center urged council members to reject the amendment, saying it would force even greater delays in bringing in a larger, well-known retail store and its customers to their places of business.

Council member Mike Healy, the sole “no” vote, sided with business owners’ concerns, and suggested he would support the amendment only if it would not apply to projects that were already proposed.

“This is going to have a serious impact on small businesses in the community, so I think we need to move very carefully here,” Healy said.

But with a motion to move forward with the amendment as proposed, council members D’Lynda Fischer and Kevin McDonnell argued that it would align with the city’s climate goals by curbing the effects associated with larger stores in regards to traffic congestion, air pollution, and attention to locally-owned businesses.

“I am tremendously empathetic to what many of the businesses in the shopping center said,” McDonnell said. “But I believe that putting an objective standard out there to review a project is a good idea.”

Many residents supported the amendment’s approval.

“It is time that Petaluma stop chasing after big box stores as a source of revenue,” said Beth Meredith in a letter to city officials posted to the city website. “The cost of the infrastructure and the decline in quality of life is inevitably greater than any benefits with these projects.”

Amelia Parreira is a staff writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at amelia.parreira@arguscourier.com or 707-521-5208.