Vote On Vons Delayed Over Traffic Study Concerns

Concerns over a traffic study prompted the Palm Desert City Council to put off a vote Thursday on whether to amend a zoning ordinance to allow a Vons store to relocate in Palm Desert.

In a 4-1 vote -- with Mayor Pro Tem Bob Spiegel dissenting – the council decided to wait two weeks to resolve a potential issue with the traffic study.

The issue was brought to the city’s attention at the last minute by the owners of the Palms to Pines Shopping Center, which houses Vons current location.

Robert Bernheimer, who was representing the owners, said the study did not take into account a new Red Lobster -- which is set to open next year -- and the tenant that will replace the Toys "R" Us.

He said the Vons relocation hurts the small business owners at the current location.

He advised the council to “back-fill Palms to Pines so the problems at Waring Center don’t become the problem at the Palms to Pines Center.”

Vons bought a vacant Mervyns store at Waring Plaza, with is on the northeast corner of Fred Waring Drive and Highway 111, with plans to put a 57,000-square-foot grocery store at the location.

But to relocate, the Palm Desert city Council has to approve amending an ordinance to allow supermarkets up to 60,000 square feet in the city. The old ordinance had a cap of 50,000 square feet.

The store's current location at the Palms to Pines Shopping Center is too small, and will be moved to a larger one, according to Brian Braaten, vice president of Real Estate for Safeway Inc.'s Vons Division.

Braaten opposed the delay, saying that he has followed every procedure laid out by the city and the law.

“We’ve been dealing with this for over a year,’’ Braaten said, visibly frustrated. He said Vons was willing to delay its closing of the Vons until 2012, help find a new tenant and leave most of the property in tact.

Spiegel echoed his frustration, calling the concerns over the traffic study moot.

“Something needs to go into that building and it needs to go now,’’ he said. “ … The greatest good is for Vons to move and to approve it tonight.”

The council will take up the issue at its May 26 meeting.