Ledger-Dispatch

By Kelly Scott (kenos@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Sean Rabe, Sutter Creek's assistant = city manager,=20 leads attendees through a PowerPoint presentation = Monday.

Photo by: Kelly=20 Scott
The third in a line of retail = shopping=20 centers received an approval for a mitigated negative declaration and a = notice=20 of determination by the Sutter Creek Planning Commission = Monday.

The=20 90,560 square-foot retail shopping space, located at the intersection of = Highway=20 49 and Ridge Road, is the third development proposed for that site since = 1990.=20 Petrovich Development's proposal includes nine separate buildings with = four=20 major tenants and three smaller retail shops, as well as two restaurant = spaces=20 included in the design. Paul Petrovich, the sole owner of the Sacramento = company, said his company takes an active role in its developments, = currently=20 owning roughly two million square feet of retail sites they do not plan = on=20 selling. Instead, the company leases the sites to businesses so = Petrovich can=20 "keep a handle on things."

"We love cities like Sutter Creek and = want to=20 treat them as carefully as we can," he said.

Petrovich added = that, with=20 the downturn of the real estate market and so many consumers turning to = the=20 Internet for their shopping, the property poses an expensive challenge = to a=20 developer that must find the right design.

"This is the snapshot = for July=20 of 2008," said Petrovich. "Who knows what will come to the table during=20 construction? I can promise that we will listen to the community and if = there is=20 something you don't want, we won't do it."

The project known as=20 Crossroads includes design elements like tile roofs, stone and brick = veneer, and=20 plant lattices, trellises and cornices to complement the historic feel = of the=20 city. Crossroads would be 35 percent less retail space than previous = proposals=20 to allow for 381 parking spaces with access from Highway 49 and Bowers = Lane. All=20 of the buildings colors were chosen by a Kelly-Moore Paints specialist = to=20 preserve the city's "small town feel," Petrovich said.

"In order = for us=20 to move ahead and lock in with Walgreens, we need an approval tonight." = he=20 added. "I am holding my breath to get this done."

Assistant City = Manager=20 Sean Rabe explained during a PowerPoint presentation that additional = analysis=20 would be required at the construction stage. "So far there is no signage = approved since that is a separate permit process," he said. "It will = come back=20 to the commission."

Residents spoke in favor of Crossroads, = calling it a=20 "big improvement" from the projects that were proposed in the past by = the Pratt=20 and Griffin companies.

Planning commissioners accepted the = project's=20 mitigated negative declaration, but no construction start date was set = during=20 the meeting.

"Thank you for inviting us to your city," Petrovich = said=20 after the approval. "We try to go the extra mile and we will make this = project=20 the best."

Kelly = Scott