Any time they like, shoppers can pop into Dave Painter's office at Nevada City's SPD Market to talk to the store's owner. If they need someone to carry out their groceries, baggers are happy to help.

“If they take the time to put the groceries into the cart, then it's our job to get them into their car,” Painter said.

That kind of service — long a hallmark of small-town America — is Painter's insurance against an onslaught from a big-box retailer like Wal-Mart or Target, should one ever land in western Nevada County.

SPD, a family-owned business in operation since 1959, now with two stores in western Nevada County, could stack up against the big boys, Painter said.

“Businesses such as ours have always had the strength in customer service,” Painter said. “Lots of businesses like ours have gone toe-to-toe with a big-box retailers. We can be more responsive to the customer.”

With development marching up Highway 49 from Auburn, some Nevada County residents look forward to the shopping opportunities and sales tax revenue a local big box would offer. Others fear a large retailer would destroy the charm of a county that, so far, has been able to avoid much of what makes the “flatland” look bland.

Painter won't have to test his strength yet against big-box retailers, stung by the recession and over-reaching in the building boom of the 2000s.

They are slow to move in on new territories now, said Jason Galleli, a commercial real estate representative with Colliers International, a global firm with offices in Roseville. He represents about 25 large retailers.

“There is no pressure to open stores today,” Galleli said. Conditions at the location of a new store would have “to be perfect.”

‘Don't Roseville Grass Valley'

But that doesn't mean Grass Valley couldn't host a big box some day. Large retailers in the past have expressed interest in building in western Nevada County's economic hub and could again, Galleli said.

How retailers would be received is a different matter. Some residents like the county for its small-town charm and lack of bright neon signs. Others would prefer the convenience of shopping locally and not driving to Auburn or Roseville for their needs.

Community leaders offer mixed opinions on the issue, recognizing the potential for huge revenues during the toughest recession in recent memory, while acknowledging the concerns of small-business owners and residents.

In the mid-2000s as Nevada County grew quickly, residents fearing outsized growth joined a bumper sticker campaign called, “Don't Roseville Grass Valley.”

But even that had its nuances.

“I was never against a big box coming in,” said Steve Enos, the former Grass Valley councilman who organized that campaign. He wants buildings that reflect the area's Gold Rush history and small-town character, through architectural design that brings buildings to the sidewalk.

Despite the potential for revenue gain — a big-box retailer (possibly Wal-Mart) going into North Auburn is expected to generate more than $400,000 for Placer County — no one here is making an effort to recruit large retailers, said Nevada County Economic Resource Council CEO Gil Mathew. (That agency's focus is technology and manufacturing firms.)

No one at Grass Valley City Hall is seeking a big box, either, Grass Valley Mayor Lisa Swarthout added.

“There are development interests who might be interested in pursuing that,” she said. “If someone approached us, we would be open to that.”

But Swarthout, who owns a dress shop on Mill Street downtown, added: “Before we try recruiting a big box, maybe there is room for an expansion with our current retailers” to meet consumers' needs.

Reality vs. fiction

“Nothing in our development code prohibits a big-box retailer from building here,” said Grass Valley Community Planning Director Joe Heckel.

Grass Valley serves as the focal point for large commercial development in Nevada County, unlike neighboring Placer County, where supervisors routinely approve large developments in unincorporated areas, such as North Auburn.

“We don't have the infrastructure for it” in unincorporated Nevada County, said county Planning Director Jory Stewart. “The only place one could go would be the Higgins Corner property (on Combie Road in the southern county), but that's already gone through the planning process for a Bel Air grocery store.”

The biggest consideration in Grass Valley would be traffic congestion, Heckel said. The addition of large retailers would mean developers would have to widen lanes or install traffic signals. The developer of the 14,000-plus square-foot Walgreens store at Brunswick Road and Sutton Way will be required to pay $300,000 for lane and intersection widening.

Some already are fed up with frequent traffic backups in the area.

“The traffic is really bad now. Those stores would just make it worse,” said Grass Valley resident Pauline Stout.

Heckel looked at a map of the city in a conference room in Grass Valley's City Hall. Pointing to the mish-mash of lines indicating the streets and topography in town, he landed on the catch.

“You'd need a minimum of 10 to 20 acres for retail use,” Heckel said. “It's really difficult to find that space inside of town.”

Grass Valley, built on a series of hills and, aptly, valleys, is constricted by topography, Heckel said. To build a large store would require construction on one of Grass Valley's four special development areas — the 450 acres of Loma Rica Ranch, SouthHill Village's 65 acres, Northstar's 760 acres or Kenny Ranch's 360 acres — to provide sufficient space and highway access, Heckel said.

Of the four projects, Loma Rica is the closest to fruition, but still far from building. And a big-box retailer would be radically different from the developer's original plan for the property, which had called for open space and trails.

“Any new development would at least be a couple years out,” Heckel said. “Anything quicker would have to be built on existing property in the city.”

That would mean buying up existing retail real estate and refitting it for a large retailer's needs.

The San Diego-based pet supply chain PETCO recently did just that, buying a 12,000-square-foot space on Freeman Lane that was previously a Fashion Bug. Some residents and owners of other pet supply stores bristled at the chain's arrival, expected this fall.

“We're overwhelmed with pet stores now,” Jan Hundemer, who co-owns Grass Valley's Scraps Bakery with her two sisters, said at the time. “Our business is already down because of the economy, and a big-box store is going to put a lot of people out of work.”

In the late 1990s, people talked about a big-box retailer going into the Pendola property in Glenbrook Basin, but no paperwork ever was filed, said Nevada County planner Tod Herman.

Welcome mat or cold shoulder?

The lack of large-scale development that breeds big-box stores is part of what drew William Fitts from Los Gatos, in the hills southwest of San Jose, to Nevada City, Fitts said.

“I have mixed feelings though,” Fitts said. “There's talk of a Costco coming to Auburn, and I think that's a good thing. We're retired, so I wouldn't shop at some place like that, but for a large family, you can get a lot of bang for your buck there.”

County residents have mixed feelings in regard to retail development, said Grass Valley Downtown Association Executive Director Howard Levine.

“A third of people are opposed to the idea, a third probably wouldn't care and another third would like it to satisfy their shopping needs,” Levine said.

A 1999 report by the city of Grass Valley found almost 60 percent of county residents report shopping “off of the hill' — in Auburn, Roseville or Marysville — at least once each month. (Solid figures on how much money that represents are not available, Mathew said.)

Despite the length of time since the report was issued, most officials agree the document remains relevant.

“If people continue to drive down the hill, would we do better to keep that sales tax here?” asked Marilyn Seolas, owner of the Top Drawer linen closet in Grass Valley. “For Nevada County to survive, we need that sales tax.”

City leaders know declining income from sales tax plays a huge role in the Grass Valley's budget shortfall, which has led to layoffs and reduced services in the last two years.

“We've lost three of our four auto dealerships in the last five years, and that's the main reason the city's sales tax revenues have taken such a hit,” Swarthout said.

Some corporate retailers would be good neighbors, but others would “suck the town dry,” Levine said. Finding the right one would be important if Grass Valley decided to go that route, he said.

In any conversation, small, independent retailers need heavy consideration, Levine added. Large retailers can out-advertise and out-market most independent businesses, he said.

“Independent business people provide greater impact in terms of dollars spent inside our community than anyone else,” Levine said.

He pointed to community-backed projects downtown such as the planned expansion of Center for the Arts, the mural project on the back of the historic Del Oro Theatre and numerous others, built largely on funding from independent business.

Retailers currently employ about 930 people in western Nevada County, according to the July issue of Nevada County Business News.

Some local retailers would crumble under the competition of a large retailer, said Irene Nicolas, co-owner of Booktown Books in Grass Valley. Owners closed the business' Nevada City location when the recession hit.

“Certainly, if a Barnes & Noble came to Grass Valley, it would be harmful to us all,” Nicolas said. “One of those would do us all in.”

Rough and Ready's Cora Lee Clifton can do without a large retailer in town, she said. She rarely shops outside of Grass Valley due to disability, and the arrival of a large retailer would be dangerous for her budget, Clifton said.

“I guess it's a good thing those stores aren't here, or else I'd spend all my money with them,” Clifton said.

Marshall Franks of Chicago Park would rather drive than have large neon signs right in his backyard, he said.

“I don't care to see big stores. If that's what I wanted, I'd just take the car to Auburn or Roseville,” he said. “I like hanging out in Grass Valley because we don't have all that stuff.”

Others, like Penn Valley's Linda Corbett, would shop at a big box if it were to come.

“I wouldn't mind having a Wal-Mart, I'd go to it,” Corbett said. “I'd really like to see a Trader Joe's.”

Residents yearning for a big box should think carefully about why they shop and what they shop for, Levine said.

“What is it what you really need? Haven't we learned during the downturn that we don't need as much as we thought?” Levine said.

On the radar

What mega-retailers really need to move to Grass Valley is a near-perfect confluence of population, location and eased regulations, Galleli said.

Retailers such as Target only consider market areas with populations of about 100,000. All of Nevada County had fewer than 99,000 in 2009, according to California Department of Finance figures, with an estimated one-quarter to one-third of that in the eastern county.

“If you can locate near a highway — get frontage on (Highway) 49 — it would increase your potential customer base,” Galleli said. “Everything in retail comes down to defining a consumer area.”

Grass Valley sits on the radar screen of some large retailers, he added.

That's not lost on some community leaders.

“Large retailers know there's a large amount of buying power here,” said former Grass Valley mayor Mark Johnson.

Auburn stands in Grass Valley's way in terms of landing a big-box retailer, officials said.

Any retailer with a location in Auburn — Best Buy, Target, possibly Wal-Mart — would need its store to be well-established there before moving up the hill, Galleli said. They'd also need consumers to get fed up with the drive — about half an hour from Grass Valley.

“You'd need to have enough traffic here that isn't going to Auburn,” Galleli said.

Developers may not be willing to make an effort to access those dollars, though, Galleli said.

Grass Valley's building code pushes developers to build street-front stores, eschewing the convention of a large parking lot in front of the store.

“Listen: Street-front retail isn't the best for these companies,” Galleli said. “Some of them won't come if there's a lot of guidelines.”

Grass Valley's standards could be eased by the City Council, but some argue whether they should. But for very desirable locations, large retailers also have bent to local design preferences.

If a large retailer were to knock at the western county's door, leaders shouldn't loosen design standards to accommodate them, Mathew said.

To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.

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