Walgreens rejected, again

Despite a supportive staff report, on Tuesday the Petaluma Planning Commission again denied the Petaluma Health Care District’s proposal to build a Walgreens with a drive-thru pharmacy.

“I am a bit surprised and disappointed in the planning commissioners’ response based on majority council support for the project subject to processing a general plan amendment regarding the pharmacy pick-up window and the fact the planning department staff report’s recommendation was to approve (the project),” said Ramona Faith, CEO of the health care district. “This is an important project that will serve an unmet need and offer pharmaceutical services that currently do not exist in Petaluma.”

The health care district, which is able to run itself without any public support through its real estate investments, first proposed the project in May of last year. The planning commission quickly denied the project because it included a drive-thru pharmacy; Petaluma’s general plan includes a ban on any new drive-thrus.

T he health care district says the drive-thru is needed for elderly and sick residents who can’t easily get out of their cars and wait in line for medication - but while the Petaluma City Council has showed support for the project, which would require an amendment to the general plan and rezoning the site on McDowell Boulevard, the planning commission has repeatedly denied the project.

On Tuesday night, the conflicted commission repeated its position, although it plans to review the general plan amendment and zoning change later this month.

“We will then go to city council and request approval,” said Faith, hopeful that the council will have a different opinion on this matter.

An unofficial vote in June showed that a council majority was in favor of the necessary general plan amendment to allow for the Walgreens drive-thru pharmacy, which would only require a 4-3 majority vote to pass.

While the amended general plan language is still in the drafting process, the concept is to “provide flexibility to approve pick-up windows for a very limited number of service uses,” according to a city staff report. Such facilities would have to demonstrate a negligible increase in greenhouse gas emissions and incorporate additional energy efficient measures. City Manager John Brown said city staff’s goal is to get the greenest building possible from an applicant.

The issue of rezoning is a significant concern for critics of the proposal like Dr. Bob Koenitzer, a local dentist with an office on Lynch Creek Way near the proposed Walgreens site. He said he can’t understand why the city would trade its office space for additional retail space, especially given what he considers to be a growing need for medical services.

“More retail is the last thing we need on McDowell right now,” Koenitzer said.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that occupations and industries related to health care will be the biggest job producers between 2012 and 2022, accounting for nearly one-third of projected job growth. In Sonoma County, Koenitzer said, the need for future medical office space has been driven by a growing population, aging residents and increased rates of diabetes and obesity.

However, while Koenitzer and other Walgreens opponents contend that Petaluma’s medical office space is dwindling, the city’s vacancy rates paint a different picture.

Commercial real estate firm Keegan & Coppin supplies Petaluma with its real estate vacancy information, and its first-quarter 2014 data shows that of Petaluma’s 3.3 million square feet of office space, 713,418 square feet, or 21.6 percent, is vacant. About 75,900 square feet of that vacant office space, which can be used for medical offices, is located within a one-mile radius of the potential Walgreens pharmacy, including about 27,300 square feet available in the Southpoint Business Park.