Council members spar over shopping center project

Discussion of the city’s declining revenues at Monday night’s budget workshop turned to debate over the history and fate of Regency Centers’ long-planned but controversial “East Washington Place” shopping center.

Councilmember Mike Healy said he doesn’t have confidence that the city’s revenues will increase in the next two years.

“I really don’t see the welcome mat out for either Regency or Deer Creek, based on comments at the FEIA hearings, based on the pending re-organization of the planning commission and SPARC,” Healy said.

Vice Mayor Teresa Barrett countered that she didn’t think either of those projects would be open in time to generate revenue for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, even if they were approved now.

Councilmember David Rabbitt said the “potential revenue” aspect of the budget is not being pursued and said Regency “could have been online prior to this” if it hadn’t faced, among other factors, a lack of enthusiasm and direction from the city.

“Everything that we’ve been doing has been throwing up roadblocks — dismantling of the planning department has certainly cost us a number of months,” Rabbitt said. “Some people, that’s what they want to happen.”

Mayor Pamela Torliatt responded to Rabbitt, saying, “Your comments are almost insulting to what, over the past five months, this council has been trying to do.”

She said when Regency first proposed its project, the city was in the midst of updating its General Plan, a process that became drawn out due to additional analysis of greenhouse gas emissions and water supply — “and you know this,” she said to Rabbitt.

Regency has been given direction by the majority of the council that its project should reflect the need for general merchandise, electronics and building/hardware stores, Torliatt said.

“They have been told, time and time again, what will work for this community,” she said.

Councilmember David Glass questioned why the Regency project hadn’t been approved by previous councils that he said were backed by development interests.

“Why didn’t that development happen between January 2007 and January 2009?” he asked.

Torliatt and Glass said accusations that the council’s environmental majority is out to stop development are unfounded.

“There has been a lot of commentary in the community that does not aptly characterize this council,” Torliatt said. “Frankly, I’m a little tired of it.”

“We’re not trying to stall anything; we’re trying to get a well-designed project that will augment our budget,” Glass said. “Let’s stop pointing fingers.”

City Manager John Brown stepped in to urge the council to work together.

“The conversation that we’re having may be cathartic, but I don’t think it’s helpful,” he said. “What I really need right now is everybody pulling in the same direction.”

— Corey Young, Petaluma Argus-Courier