Politics & Government
Novato Mayor Pro Tem: North Redwood Corridor Moratorium Isn't Anti-Business
Council eager to do business with developers but wants community input first. Parcel is viewed as a potential retail gold mine as Novato seeks ways to plug "retail leakage."
On the surface, Novato's city council on took action on May 14 that appears to be geared towards slowing down the pace of business development.
But the intent of the council's 5-0 vote to put a 45-day urgency ordinance prohibiting any new development within the North Redwood Corridor area was the exact opposite.
That's according to Novato Mayor Pro Tem Eric Lucan, who told Patch that he wanted community input on how - not if - the potential retail gold mine that sits between Olive and Atherton Avenues and Redwood Boulevard and U.S. Highway 101 can be developed in a way that suits the wants and needs of local residents.
"Our interest in establishing the moratorium was not a 'no to development,' or being business unfriendly, it was actually the exact opposite," Lucan said.
"We want the moratorium to serve as a catalyst to bring both the development community and the Novato community together to have the discussion and figure out what's best for that very fine piece of real estate."
Lucan acknowledged that how the city moves forwards with the plan is critical in the aftermath of the results of a study the city commissioned that earlier this month estimates a whopping $169.5 million in annual "retail leakage," or the amount of money Novato residents spend on goods and services outside the city limits versus what outside residents drop in Novato.
The North Redwood Corridor area development is the city's last major developable parcel.
"Right now there's interest in that parcel of land and some of the proposals that are coming forward are to develop it somewhat piecemeal," Lucan said.
"We really haven't had a chance to get the community consensus for what would be best suited for in that area." The city's development moratorium hasn't triggered any blowback from developers, Lucan said.
"Even as we discussed this moratorium we're not hearing from anyone that they're walking away," Lucan said. "Instead we're hearing that developers are interested in coming together and continuing to talk and see how they can make it work."
Lucan said that council is pushing for a partnership among interested developers moving forward. "That's truly going to be up to the developers and the various property owners but we're basically communicating that that's what we'd like to see happen," Lucan said.
"That's one of the intents of the moratorium. "It's already bringing people to the table. We're getting good responses."
