Shopping center builder, city at odds

The developer of a proposed shopping center on North McDowell Boulevard says the city didn’t respond to its latest application submittal within the time frame specified by state law, so the project should be ready for public review.

Merlone Geier Partners, in a June 18 letter to the city, said more than 30 days had passed since it submitted a second packet of information on its Deer Creek Village project to the community development department.

Since the city didn’t respond within that period as to whether the application was incomplete, under state law the paperwork must now be deemed now complete, the company contends.

The section of the California Government Code cited by Merlone Geier deals with development applications and states, “Not later than 30 calendar days after receipt of the submitted materials, the public agency shall determine in writing whether they are complete and shall immediately transmit that determination to the applicant. If the written determination is not made within that 30-day period, the application together with the submitted materials shall be deemed complete for purposes of this chapter.”

A Merlone Geier representative said this week that the city hasn’t responded to either its May submittal or its June letter.

The company has requested that its project be reviewed by the Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee no later than July, but “they are refusing to put us on the agenda,” said Michael Grehl, one of Merlone Geier’s directors.

He claims the city isn’t distinguishing between completed application paperwork and a project that is ready for final approval.

City Manager John Brown said “there are some differences of opinion as to whether we do have a completed application at this point. There are issues that need to be worked through.”

The Deer Creek Village project, on North McDowell Boulevard across from Petaluma Valley Hospital, calls for a large home improvement store and lumber yard, as well as a fitness center, pharmacy, medical officers and additional retailers.

Earlier this year, a Fiscal and Economic Impact Assessment for the project found that it would create 500 permanent jobs and generate $1 million a year in taxes for the city.

(Contact Corey Young at corey.young@arguscourier.com)