Proposed Arnold Drive Shopping Center Sparks Neighborhood Anger

Neighborhood anger over a proposed shopping center featuring a drive-through Starbucks was enough for city officials to cancel a routine meeting and instead have the proposal heard by the Planning Commission.

“We had about 25 people at a meeting last night, and they were very upset about this development,” said contract planner Dina Tasini. Because of that, the project, set to be considered for approval Wednesday by the zoning administrator, now will be considered by the Planning Commission at its July 26 meeting.

The proposed development is on a 1.5-acre parcel on Arnold Drive. It has been a pumpkin patch, Christmas Tree lot and carnival site over the years. It’s near Walmart and Home Depot, and to the east is Village Oaks, an area of single-family homes.

The developer, Bill Schrader and the Austin Group, have signed Starbucks for one of the three buildings, and plan a drive-through for the site. Also planned is a Verizon Wireless store, and there is a possibility of a Staples and small restaurant, Tasini said.

Because the property is zoned for residential and commercial, Schrader is asking the city to loosen a number of rules regarding the size and number of parking spaces, and the distance of the buildings from each other and the property lines.

But those are the kinds of requests that have stirred neighborhood opposition. Tasini said that traffic, noise and parking issues are among the most troubling issues to the neighborhood, as well as a proposed fence around the development. She said the applicant will do a traffic study to determine the effects of additional traffic on Arnold and Shadow Falls drives. A parking study, also by the applicant, has concluded that parking will not be a problem under the proposed plan.

Tasini said that because of the present economy, it is highly unlikely that housing will be built on the site, though it is seen as an “opportunity site” in the city’s Housing Element.

“Any infill development that shows a change is going to be a problem,” she said. “The neighbors want their pumpkin patch, their seasonal uses. They don’t want a permanent development there.”