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MINUTES City of San Leandro City Council Meeting~July 9, 2007 Page 2 that on July 11, 2006, Norcal filed an application for a Grocery Outlet at the former downtown Albertson's site. Prior to this application being deemed complete, an urgency ordinance placing a moratorium on discretionary actions for opportunity sites within the Downtown TOD Strategy Area was passed by the Council. Grocery Outlet submitted a letter stating their application should be considered a neighborhood grocery store (not subject to the moratorium), not a supermarket. The City's Planning Manager and the City's Zoning Enforcement Official determined that Grocery Outlet was considered a supermarket and therefore subject to the moratorium. Norcal and Grocery Outlet filed an appeal of the determination to the Board of Zoning Adjustments. The BZA denied the appeal. Ms. Livermore stated that staff has received many calls and emails from concerned residents, and a summary of this correspondence has been provided in the Council's folders. Zoning Enforcement Official William Schock described the process he used for making the determination that Grocery Outlet was a supermarket and not a neighborhood grocery store or neighborhood/specialty food market. Todd Litfin, Rutan & Tucker, attorney for Red Mountain, addressed the City Council, commenting on Red Mountain's purchase of the subject site and its attempts to attract a tenant that would be acceptable to the City. Mr. Litfin noted that two different moratoriums have been placed on the property, the first which prohibited a mixed use project proposed for the site, and the second which prohibits conditional uses such as a supermarket. Mr. Litfin commented that a permitted use is not prohibited by the moratorium, and the issue here is whether Grocery Outlet is a neighborhood grocery store, which is a permitted use, or a supermarket, which is not. Mr. Litfin stated that the Zoning Code defines supermarkets as stores selling a wide variety of food and household items with a community-wide market area. Mr. Litfin pointed to the results of a market study commissioned by Grocery Outlet which showed that 90% of its business would come from within a two-mile radius. He noted that the General Plan describes neighborhood markets as those that draw their tenants from between one or two miles. Mr. Litfin stated that according to the words in the Code, Grocery Outlet is a neighborhood market. Eric Nelson, Red Mountain Retail Group, addressed the City Council, expressing frustration with the City and some of its leaders. He thanked Councilmembers Gregory and Souza for meeting with him to discuss the matter. Mr. Nelson stated that the City's insistence on having a grocery store such as Trader Joe's, Whole Foods or Andronico's, and not a Grocery Outlet, impacts his rights as a property owner. Mr. Nelson commented that the City has a very confusing and bureaucratic way of dealing with property owners. Mr. Nelson quoted from several emails by City staff and stated that he believed the moratorium was a top-down staff decision by City management to keep Grocery Outlet out of the downtown area. Mr. Nelson commented that Red Mountain has provided the City with the studies and legal arguments that clearly show that Grocery Outlet is a neighborhood grocery store, as well as over 200 letters from supporters of Grocery Outlet.