Neiman Marcus plan moves forward; council to make final decision May 5
Contra Costa Times
Elisabeth Nardi
April 22, 2009
WALNUT CREEK, CA -
After hours of presentations and public comment on a planned Neiman Marcus store at Broadway Plaza, the City Council on Tuesday night continued the hearing until May 5.
The move was expected because appeals have been filed to the planning commission's decision to allow mechanical parking lifts and attendant parking (for employees only) in the five-level garage on South Main Street. The lifts, and attendant parking for employees, would exceed Broadway Plaza's requirement that 175 new spaces be provided for Neiman Marcus.
The council will eventually decide whether to approve a general plan amendment to allow an additional 48,000 square feet at the corner of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and South Main.
This revised, scaled-down plan is for a 92,000-square-foot, two-story building. Unlike the previous store plan approved by the council last fall, the new one complies with the existing city height limit of 35 feet.
While earlier incarnations of the project proposed by Broadway Plaza owner Macerich Co. drew large crowds both in support and in opposition, it was mostly supporters who spoke their mind Tuesday night. Many said not only did they want Neiman Marcus in Walnut Creek, but the bigger project, pulled by Macerich in December, should have gone forward.
This past fall, in an attempt to get a referendum on the ballot and block the project, signature gatherers were paid by rival mall company the Taubman Group, owner of the Sunvalley mall in Concord.
"I get really offended by these outside people coming in; this is a local issue," said Walnut Creek resident Brad Kofoed. "Let's not lose sight that this will create jobs." Macerich estimates at least 100 jobs would be created and $400,000 in yearly sales tax revenue generated.
Others say the project is just too big for its location, and that the city should mandate the new building be "green."
"I would like to see us have the smallest Neiman Marcus and the greenest Neiman Marcus in the nation," said Walnut Creek resident Andrea Morse, who said she feels the proposed building would overwhelm the street.
Also discussed at Tuesday's meeting was a development agreement that would bind the city and Macerich together, allowing Macerich five years to build the store. The agreement also details "community benefits" including extending the downtown trolley bus hours, $50,000 in matching funds for a downtown parking study and Broadway and Newell Avenue re-striping and lane configuration.