Market proposal is pulled

CITY HALL—The developer of a proposal to put a Whole Foods Market in the Rancho District has rescinded his request for the council to consider a scaled-down project before rejecting the project outright.

But at press deadline, the council had not yet voted on a resolution that would finalize the council's denial of the project.

Developer Tom Davies had asked the council in a March 6 letter to delay codifying its Feb. 20 rejection of a 50,000-square-foot project in order to give him time to present design plans for a 40,000-square-foot alternative. The size reduction was an attempt to address concerns of council members and Rancho District residents who maintained that the project would have adverse traffic and safety impacts on the largely equestrian neighborhood.

But project developers were unable to make that reduced project fit at the Alameda Avenue and Main Street location, Davies said.

"We have been working diligently to determine if a smaller Whole Foods Market would work on the site at Alameda and Main," Davies said in the letter. "In addition, we have continued our exhaustive search for other parcels in Burbank that might work. I regret to inform you that we have not been able to create a scenario that works on the Alameda and Main parcel or any parcel in Burbank at this point in time."

Davies also asked that council dismiss the project without prejudice, meaning the applicant would not have to wade through the entire application process to submit another proposal.

The resolution drafted by the City Attorney's office did not specify a without-prejudice denial, so the council could not have granted the developer's request without an amendment.

Project opponents in council chambers on Tuesday were on hand to see the project denial carried through, highlighting the fact that a without- prejudice denial was not indicated in the original 3-2 vote to reject the project, said Rancho District resident Roman Gora.

QUESTION

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