Final decision expected Tuesday on Sebastopol CVS project

<p>A final decision is expected Tuesday on the design of the CVS Pharmacy project, which has remained a contentious issue in Sebastopol even though it has already received the critical approvals needed to move forward.</p><p>The City Council will consider whether to approve the project's design or send it back to the Design Review Board, which had rejected the developer's proposal as being out of sync with Sebastopol's Main Street character.</p><p>It is the second time the developer, Armstrong Development Properties of Sacramento, is asking the City Council to overturn the decision of a city commission. </p><p>The City Council on June 5 overruled the Planning Commission, which had also rejected the CVS Pharmacy proposal, and also decided that the CVS project could go ahead without a full environmental impact report.</p><p>“This is an important hearing Tuesday, but people need to remember we are looking at fairly specific design issues,” said Mayor Guy Wilson. “It is not an up or down vote on the entire project. It is just looking at the Design Review Board issues.”</p><p>Armstrong Development is proposing to build a 14,576-square-foot CVS Pharmacy and a 4,327-square-foot Chase Bank branch at the intersection of Sebastopol and Petaluma avenues.</p><p>CVS and Chase already have facilities elsewhere in Sebastopol and would relocate to that corner, the site of the vacant Pellini Chevrolet dealership.</p><p>The $10 million project that has been controversial since it was first proposed in the spring of 2011, with the opposition being led by the Committee for Small Town Sebastopol.</p><p>Armstrong Development spokesman Bill McDermott said the firm already has made many changes in the design that will make the CVS and Chase buildings unique in the nation.</p><p>The opponents also have filed suit in Sonoma County Superior Court contending the project needs an environmental impact report, primarily on the impact of traffic at an already congested intersection.</p><p>The City Council had a public hearing on the Design Review Board decision on Jan. 23, with the presentation by the developer and public comments lasting 4½ hours.</p><p>On Tuesday, the council will allow the developer to respond to the public comments and then begin its own deliberations.</p><p>The city's planning staff is recommending that the council overturn Design Review Board denial and approve the design.</p><p>The meeting is at 6 p.m. in the Sebastopol Community Center.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.</p>