Photograph by Robert Scheer
Deborah Olson says it's not feasible to keep her family's largest orchard in business.
By KATHERINE PETERSEN
The cherry trees on Sunnyvale's last large orchard may soon be replaced by a retail center.
Deborah Olson, who runs the family fruit stand at El Camino Real and Mathilda Avenue where the orchard now stands, said running the orchard is no longer economically viable.
"We hung in there as long as possible, but with the economic problems and natural disasters over the last five years, it is impossible to continue," Olson said. Many of the trees on the orchard are diseased, she added. Higher-than-usual rainfall also contributed to a low cherry yield.
The Olsons will lease most of the 15.9-acre property to Target, which will build a 130,000-square-foot Great Lands store, a larger and upscale version of a Target store. Target hopes to include two smaller buildings on the property, said Fred Bell, a Sunnyvale principal planner.
Although Olson said leasing the land was a difficult and heart-wrenching decision, Olsen said she and her family needed to face reality. She added that a Target store will generate a lot of sales tax for the city.
"I've visited one myself, and they have good values. I liked it. It's a good location for people. They'll keep the site neat and clean," she said.
Olson hopes a new project will bring more awareness to the fact that her fruit stand is open. It will remain in business even if the land lease goes through, she said.
"A lot of people think I'm closed. The fruit stand gives the area a sense of community," Olson said.
Sunnyvale, which is acting as an intermediary between Target and Environmental Science Asso-
ciates, which will conduct the environmental impact report, held a scoping session recently for citizens to express thoughts on material to be covered in the impact report.
Edward Moore, who attended the meeting, said he hoped the report would address his concerns about the plans to put in new lights on El Camino and Mathilda Avenue near the potential entrances to the site. He said the plan would cut the medians on both roads, which could impact traffic on these two streets as well as in nearby neighborhoods.
"Introducing a traffic light at Taaffe and El Camino across the street from the proposed entrance would have an adverse effect on El Camino traffic and might be an invitation for traffic to overflow onto Taaffe," he said.
In the past, he said, the city has been protective of traffic flow on El Camino and Mathilda and reluctant to introduce breaks in the median, which prevented a traffic light from being installed when the nearby Orchard Supply Hardware was built.
Target is a company that will listen to residents' concerns, said Matt Alexander, of Terranomics Retail Services, the real estate firm working with Target.
"They are very aware of the neighbors' concerns and will address them because they want to be part of the neighborhood," he said.
In March 1995, the City Council directed its staff to begin looking into changing the property's zoning and annexing the unincorporated portions of the land into Sunnyvale, both of which require council approval. The council has not yet approved either action.
Because the Olson land is agricultural, a state law called the Williamson Act allows the family to pay lower taxes. The agricultural designation would need to change to accommodate a retail center, which would be taxed at a higher rate.
To change the zoning and get out of the Williamson Act, the Olsons would have the option of paying at least $1 million in fees or avoiding the fees and instead wait 10 years to sell the property.
The family has opted to pay the fee, if they can win council approval.
The property, at a corner many consider to be the heart of downtown, is zoned for residential land use.
Public hearings on the environmental impact report are scheduled for October or November, Bell said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, June 26, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.