Election may hurt Ukiah project

<p>Developers proposing to build a 600,000-square-foot shopping center just north of Ukiah say they're undeterred by election results that reduced their odds of gaining Mendocino County's approval for the controversial project.</p><p>"We really believe the project and the merit of the project will convince people in the community and hopefully the Board of Supervisors we are bringing a tremendous asset to the area," said Brian Sobel, spokesman for the Developers Diversified Realty project named Mendocino Crossings.</p><p>Voters on Tuesday elected two outspoken critics of the plan -- John McCowen and Carre Brown -- to the Board of Supervisors, resulting in what both project supporters and opponents believe will be a 4-1 majority in opposition when the new board is seated in January.</p><p>"I think it was a very positive election," said Potter Valley farmer and winemaker Guinness McFadden, who is opposed to the project.</p><p>Project supporter and real estate broker Dick Selzer said the election outcome is unfortunate, and he believes the developers will need to take dramatic steps to get their project approved.</p><p>"I think, ultimately, the developers will take it to a countywide initiative," he said. "That's just my spin."</p><p>Sobel said a ballot initiative is not in the works.</p><p>The company instead has been lobbying county officials and area residents for support through informational meetings and a series of mailers.</p><p>"We're reaching out to the community," Sobel said.</p><p>As currently envisioned, the 600,000-square-foot mixed-use development would include an open-air shopping mall with "big-box" stores, including Costco, restaurants, light industrial shops, apartments, condominiums and live-work units.</p><p>The project -- by far the largest commercial development ever proposed in Mendocino County -- had faced an uphill battle for approval even before Tuesday's election.</p><p>The first key governmental-approval hurdle is gaining a county zoning change from industrial to residential and commercial.</p><p>The Ukiah Valley Smart Growth Coalition has mobilized against the project, saying it's inappropriate in size and scope for the Ukiah Valley. The group prefers industrial uses -- ideally those related to alternative energy -- for the former Masonite plant property.</p><p>Ukiah officials also are concerned. They say it would harm downtown businesses.</p><p>Selzer and several other influential business leaders favor the project, saying it will bring jobs and sales tax dollars to the county. If built as planned, developers estimate, the project would generate $2 million in annual tax revenue and about 700 jobs.</p><p>The project appeared to have three favorable votes on the current Board of Supervisors. Jim Wattenburger and Mike Delbar have said they had not taken a stand on the project, but they joined John Pinches in voting to include the proposed zoning change in an environmental study for the Ukiah Valley Area Plan, an addendum to the General Plan. Project supporters and opponents widely believe it indicated they favor the project.</p><p>With the replacements of Wattenburger, who is retiring, and Delbar, who was defeated in Tuesday's election, Pinches is left as the only apparent supporter on the board to be seated in January.</p><p>Sobel said the project's developers are still optimistic. "We believe we have tremendous support for bringing to the Ukiah Valley what residents can't find there readily and are having to travel out of the region to find. We're excited about it."</p><p>McFadden said the Ohio-based developers -- one of the country's largest shopping center builders and owners -- are misjudging Mendocino County residents.</p><p>"They think we'd soil our own nest in order to have good shopping instead of maintaining quality of life and clean air," he said. "As though that's why we came here -- to shop."</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat</p><p>.com.</p>