Close to Home: Wanting a level playing field for local business Close to Home: Wanting a level playing field for local business

On Wednesday, The Press Democrat editorial staff gave a “thumbs down” judgment on our appeal of the Santa Rosa Planning Commission’s approval of the “Shops at Austin Creek” project at the site which used to house Prickett’s Nursery. The editors made the case that our appeal is based upon anti-competitive intentions on our part rather than concerns regarding the unmitigated traffic impacts we have cited. The truth of the matter is that it is both.

A large percentage of our customers live in Oakmont, Skyhawk and Kenwood and must use the intersection of Sonoma Highway and Calistoga Road to access our store on Montecito Boulevard. Placing a specialty grocer and a drive-through CVS on that corner will surely create traffic impacts that we have a right to be concerned about.

But from a larger perspective, we also have legitimate concerns that the applicant has been given special accommodations for their national tenants to over-develop a unique site that impacts Austin Creek and the traffic on two major arterial roadways. Creek setbacks have been minimized. Air quality standards, traffic mitigations and parking requirements have been eased based upon an applicant-paid consultants’ finding that 15 percent of the customers using the drive-through CVS and the specialty grocer will be pedestrians or bike riders. We feel that national chains that wish to do business in Santa Rosa should be held to a high standard and not allowed to receive special accommodations in the development process, especially when they threaten well-established local businesses.

The editors cite our history of opposing the entrance of other national chain grocers into our marketing areas. This is true. Had we not successfully fought Whole Foods in Rincon Valley 16 years ago or Lucky’s in Cotati 21 years ago, Oliver’s, most likely, would not exist. In both of these cases, the local municipalities were more than willing to provide special accommodations in interpreting environmental laws to make it easier for the developers to clear environmental hurdles. Our appeal asks only that the developer of Shops at Austin Creek provide a full environmental study to make sure traffic impacts are truly mitigated, air quality standards are adhered to without a 15 percent reduction and Austin Creek is protected.

The reality is that Oliver’s is still a very small three-store chain that must compete with large national chains with hundreds of stores. For the record, we don’t believe the approval of this particular development will signal the demise of our company. But we do feel that developments for chains like these should not be given special treatment and should follow all of the environmental laws that are in place.

In general, we believe free-market competition is healthy. But a free market depends upon a level playing field to function properly. Our belief is that the Planning Commission rubber-stamped this project without due process. We are appealing to the City Council to take a closer look.

We feel that our stores are an asset in our communities and worth protecting. We currently employ more than 850 Sonoma County residents. We conduct trade with more than 400 other Sonoma County businesses in the everyday running of our stores. One in every $3 dollars that goes through our registers comes from products made in Sonoma County. Over the past 10 years we have donated more than $1.5 million to more than 500 local non-profit groups. We are a community-based grocer. We are only asking our community to support us in requiring everyone to play by the same rules.

Steve Maass is founder and president and Tom Scott is CEO of Oliver’s Markets, a group of three Sonoma County grocery stores focused on locally grown and made products.

On Wednesday, The Press Democrat editorial staff gave a 'thumbs down' judgment on our appeal of the Santa Rosa Planning Commission's approval of the 'Shops at Austin Creek' project at the site which used to house Prickett's Nursery. The editors made the case that our appeal is based upon anti-competitive intentions on our part rather than concerns regarding the unmitigated traffic impacts we have cited. The truth of the matter is that it is both.

A large percentage of our customers live in Oakmont, Skyhawk and Kenwood and must use the intersection of Sonoma Highway and Calistoga Road to access our store on Montecito Boulevard. Placing a specialty grocer and a drive-through CVS on that corner will surely create traffic impacts that we have a right to be concerned about.

But from a larger perspective, we also have legitimate concerns that the applicant has been given special accommodations for its national tenants to over-develop a unique site that impacts Austin Creek and the traffic on two major arterial roadways. Creek setbacks have been minimized. Air quality standards, traffic mitigations and parking requirements have been eased based upon an applicant-paid consultants' finding that 15 percent of the customers using the drive-through CVS and the specialty grocer will be pedestrians or bike riders. We feel that national chains that wish to do business in Santa Rosa should be held to a high standard and not allowed to receive special accommodations in the development process, especially when they threaten well-established local businesses.

The editors cite our history of opposing the entrance of other national chain grocers into our marketing areas. This is true. Had we not successfully fought Whole Foods in Rincon Valley 16 years ago or Lucky in Cotati 21 years ago, Oliver's, most likely, would not exist. In both of these cases, the local municipalities were more than willing to provide special accommodations in interpreting environmental laws to make it easier for the developers to clear environmental hurdles. Our appeal asks only that the developer of Shops at Austin Creek provide a full environmental study to make sure traffic impacts are truly mitigated, air quality standards are adhered to without a 15 percent reduction and Austin Creek is protected.

The reality is that Oliver's is still a very small three-store chain that must compete with large national chains with hundreds of stores. For the record, we don't believe the approval of this particular development will signal the demise of our company. But we do feel that developments for chains like these should not be given special treatment and should follow all of the environmental laws that are in place.

In general, we believe free-market competition is healthy. But a free market depends upon a level playing field to function properly. Our belief is that the Planning Commission rubber-stamped this project without due process. We are appealing to the City Council to take a closer look.

We feel that our stores are an asset in our communities and worth protecting. We currently employ more than 850 Sonoma County residents. We conduct trade with more than 400 other Sonoma County businesses in the everyday running of our stores. One in every $3 dollars that goes through our registers comes from products made in Sonoma County. Over the past 10 years we have donated more than $1.5 million to more than 500 local non-profit groups. We are a community-based grocer. We are only asking our community to support us in requiring everyone to play by the same rules.

Steve Maass is founder and president and Tom Scott is CEO of Oliver's Markets, a group of three Sonoma County grocery stores focused on locally grown and made products.