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A $30 million plan to build a Bel Air supermarket and a retail and office complex at Higgins Corner in southern Nevada County moved a step closer to approval Thursday, when the county planning commission unanimously OK’d an environmental report for the project.
In the works for five years, the project has divided the community over whether it will make shopping more convenient or create too much congestion — an ongoing debate throughout the county.
“The environmental report was adequate and complete,” said Commission Member Ruth Poulter after a more than four-hour discussion on the issue. “It was ready to move to the level of the board. In general having a large market would benefit people in the area and keep them from going to Auburn to do their shopping.”
County supervisors will vote next on the commission’s recommendations to support the project.
The planning commission also voted 3-2 to recommend a general plan amendment and 3-2 to rezone the property, so the project could go forward.
“We’re happy if they go ahead with this,” said David Freeman, owner of the Northridge Restaurant in the area. “We need the revenue in this county. My mom lives in the area and wants to shop closer to home.”
The proposed Higgins Marketplace includes a Bel-Air market and is situated on a 20-acre site located southeast of the intersection of Highway 49 and Combie Road in southwestern Nevada County, west of Lake of the Pines.
The application has gone through numerous iterations, including the downscaling of the Bel-Air market from a 59,000 square foot space to 57,000 square foot store.
Area residents shared different views on the development, from those who believed it
will ruin the “rural ambiance” of the area to ones who thought it was needed to avoid
long drives to Grass Valley or Auburn to buy groceries.
“It takes the heart and soul out of the area. We don’t want Higgins to look like North Auburn. It gets more unattractive every day,” said Shanti Emerson, a Lake of the Pines resident and member of the group South County Citizens for Smart Growth.
“The mentality of no growth in Nevada County has got to change,” said another resident. “We do need to get into the 2009 era and get a major shopping center.”
Among their recommendations, Nevada County’s planning staff directed the commission to limit the amount of commercial space to 10 acres and allow 10 acres for open space.
An engineer for the project said 10 acres wasn’t enough for the development.
Another recommendation was to prohibit fast food drive-thrus, which would generate five times the traffic volume as a supermarket.
“Fast food is really a kicker when it comes to traffic impacts,” said senior planner Tod Herman.
The most significant and unavoidable impacts of the project are to air quality and traffic on Highway 49, according to the staff report.
The developer says the project will provide 143 full-time jobs to the area and supply the county with $2 million in revenue during a 13-year period, said Fred Katz of Katz Kirkpatrick Properties.
“It will generate sales tax and property tax dollars to the county they are not getting now,” Katz said.
The property is owned the the Tintle family, he added.
Katz cited a survey conducted by former county supervisor Sue Horne that showed 60 percent of respondents were in favor of the project.
Emerson said a separate study conducted by her group showed three out of four people don’t want the project.
“Obviously this is a highly desirable location for us,” said Kent Haggerty, vice president of real estate and construction for Raley’s, which runs the Bel-Air markets.
The supermarket chain has 132 stores and opened a Grass Valley Raley’s on
Freemont Lane 20 years ago.
To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail dmirhadi@theunion.com or call 477-4239. To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
In the works for five years, the project has divided the community over whether it will make shopping more convenient or create too much congestion — an ongoing debate throughout the county.
“The environmental report was adequate and complete,” said Commission Member Ruth Poulter after a more than four-hour discussion on the issue. “It was ready to move to the level of the board. In general having a large market would benefit people in the area and keep them from going to Auburn to do their shopping.”
County supervisors will vote next on the commission’s recommendations to support the project.
The planning commission also voted 3-2 to recommend a general plan amendment and 3-2 to rezone the property, so the project could go forward.
“We’re happy if they go ahead with this,” said David Freeman, owner of the Northridge Restaurant in the area. “We need the revenue in this county. My mom lives in the area and wants to shop closer to home.”
The proposed Higgins Marketplace includes a Bel-Air market and is situated on a 20-acre site located southeast of the intersection of Highway 49 and Combie Road in southwestern Nevada County, west of Lake of the Pines.
The application has gone through numerous iterations, including the downscaling of the Bel-Air market from a 59,000 square foot space to 57,000 square foot store.
Area residents shared different views on the development, from those who believed it
will ruin the “rural ambiance” of the area to ones who thought it was needed to avoid
long drives to Grass Valley or Auburn to buy groceries.
“It takes the heart and soul out of the area. We don’t want Higgins to look like North Auburn. It gets more unattractive every day,” said Shanti Emerson, a Lake of the Pines resident and member of the group South County Citizens for Smart Growth.
“The mentality of no growth in Nevada County has got to change,” said another resident. “We do need to get into the 2009 era and get a major shopping center.”
Among their recommendations, Nevada County’s planning staff directed the commission to limit the amount of commercial space to 10 acres and allow 10 acres for open space.
An engineer for the project said 10 acres wasn’t enough for the development.
Another recommendation was to prohibit fast food drive-thrus, which would generate five times the traffic volume as a supermarket.
“Fast food is really a kicker when it comes to traffic impacts,” said senior planner Tod Herman.
The most significant and unavoidable impacts of the project are to air quality and traffic on Highway 49, according to the staff report.
The developer says the project will provide 143 full-time jobs to the area and supply the county with $2 million in revenue during a 13-year period, said Fred Katz of Katz Kirkpatrick Properties.
“It will generate sales tax and property tax dollars to the county they are not getting now,” Katz said.
The property is owned the the Tintle family, he added.
Katz cited a survey conducted by former county supervisor Sue Horne that showed 60 percent of respondents were in favor of the project.
Emerson said a separate study conducted by her group showed three out of four people don’t want the project.
“Obviously this is a highly desirable location for us,” said Kent Haggerty, vice president of real estate and construction for Raley’s, which runs the Bel-Air markets.
The supermarket chain has 132 stores and opened a Grass Valley Raley’s on
Freemont Lane 20 years ago.
To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail dmirhadi@theunion.com or call 477-4239. To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
