Photograph by Robert Scheer
Deborah Olson says she'll continue to operate the family's longstanding fruit stand no matter how the rest of the orchard property is used.
By LESTER CHANG
The Sunnyvale Planning Commission unanimously rejected a proposal for a Target store at Olson's Cherry Farm--the last large commercial orchard in Sunnyvale.
In its 7-0 vote, the commission, which met on March 10, voiced concerns about Target's plans to put box-like buildings on the 16-acre parcel owned by the Olson family at Mathilda Avenue and El Camino Real.
The proposal conflicted with a city plan that limits commercial use to 25 percent of the parcel, the commission said.
The city's plan primarily calls for construction of offices on the lot, according to the city's planning department. Planners also recommended denial of the project.
"We are disappointed," said Deborah Olson, co-owner of the property. "It is extremely important for the family that the project go through."
The property was left to family members after Rual Charles and Rose Olson.
The council will consider the proposal at its April 1 meeting. Olson said approval of the project "would be good for the family and the city."
The project would create jobs and generate sales and property tax revenues, she said.
But the commissioners said the project was not compatible with the surrounding area and wouldn't reflect the history of the city. "Target's image is not my image of Sunnyvale," said Commissioner Creighton Bricker.
Commissioner Gerald Glaser said the city already has many boxlike commercial buildings, and another project like that isn't needed.
"I don't think we need it smack-dab in the center of town," he added.
Target proposed to construct a 130,000-square-foot building, smaller buildings totaling 36,000 square feet and nearly 900 parking spaces.
The fruit stand would remain on the property, maintaining the area's historical roots, Olson said.
Target proposed to lease the land from the Olsons, who said the project was their best option at this time.
Fungi have slowly decimated cherry trees since the early 1980s, dramatically reducing crop production, Charlie Olson, co-owner of the property, told the commission.
Deborah Olson, his daughter, said she would get cherries from other sources and would continue to operate a longstanding family fruit stand at the site for many years to come.
Over the past two years, the family has worked with the city in good faith to find alternate uses for the lot, Charlie Olson said.
In March 1995, the council approved his family's request to rezone the lot for business use, he added.
Once that was granted, the family thought it had a green light for the Target project, he said.
Fred Bell, a city planner, said the council didn't approve such action. It only made changes in the general plan that conceptually approved business uses for the site, Bell said.
Should the council rezone the land, the action would prohibit the development of big-box stores like Target and retail complexes, Bell said.
Most of the public criticism came from residents who live on Taaffe and Frances streets, located within three blocks of the project.
Bill Weaver, a Taaffe Street resident, said the project will generate traffic congestion, and when that happens, motorists will take side streets to avoid it.
"I have to say I shop Target a lot, but having one across the street from me is my worst nightmare," he said.
The environmental impact report concluded the Target store would not have an impact on traffic.
But Jim Theusch, who represented Target, said the developer would not put a street light on Taaffe Street and would realign entry and exit lanes so that motorists wouldn't shine their lights at homes when they drove out of the parking lot at night.
In other action related to the proposal, the commission also recommended that the council take the following actions:
* annex most of the parcel as a way to make it eligible for police, fire and sewer services.
* approve an environmental study.
* approve the cancellation of the Williamson Act, a state law that allowed the Olsons to pay lower property taxes on most of the parcel while they kept it in agricultural use.
The cancellation means the Olsons would have to pay higher taxes for using the land in other ways, city officials said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 19, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.