After more than 90 minutes of discussion Tuesday night, the City Council turned down a rezone request which could have allowed a mid-sized big box retail store on R Ave.
Council members Brad Adams and Ryan Walters voted against the proposal and earlier voted for a separate motion by Walters to delay action for another two weeks to further review all the material the Council collected during their public hearing process.
Council member Matt Miller, a business owner, said he had a lot more questions than solutions and wanted to follow the Planning Commission recommendations to fold the MJB proposal into the city’s 2016 Comprehensive Plan update process. He said he doubted the sales tax forecast connected with the proposal, “Generating sales tax revenue is never what I chase, but I want what is right for the community.”
MJB’s proposal would rezone about ten-acres on R Ave, between 24th and 28th streets to allow for as much as 105,000 square feet of retail space to accommodate what might be called a mid-sized big box store. MJB often cites Fred Meyer as a potential store. Before Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Council walked the site proposed for the rezone.
Walters wasn’t ready to deny the proposal, but instead asked for a two-week delay on Council action, outlining instead what he called a “proposed motion,” which would allow a building of the size MJB proposed, but could include a list of conditions, including a requiring “harmonizing the building with the site’s surrounding marine industrial aesthetic and functionality” and other language that could give the city more control over the building.
Walters’ plan would leave the lot zoned for industrial use, but new language would be added to allow for a retail operation as large as 100,000 square feet on the property with the conditions he outlined. He conceded that some local businesses would be affected by a larger retail store, but said he didn’t think The Market, Ace or Sebo’s would close, adding, “It’s not our job to decide between local versus new businesses.”
Miller said he thought the MJB proposal should be part of a larger discussion, such as the 2016 Comp Plan update, and include discussion whether the residents want a larger so-called big box store.
Council member Liz Lovelett said residents have said a number of times they don’t want a big box store, “When we look through the hundreds of pages of testimony we’ve had, more people are concerned about losing the character of our community to another big, faceless, corporate entity and I think it’s a very real concern.”
Council member Eric Johnson said it seemed to him that the community is “about 50-50” over the addition of a store like Fred Meyers
Council member Brad Adams said the city will need to grow retail sales tax revenue or face the prospect of higher property taxes to pay for city operations, “We need to try to self-sustain.”
Council member Erica Pickett said she has lots of questions, like, “How much retail space does the city have now?” She didn’t think a Fred Meyers here would stop Anacortes residents from going to shop in Burlington or Mount Vernon, “People like to go out of town.”
MJB representative Jimmy Blais said he was disappointed, but appreciated the community’s input.