Upfront DEVELOPMENT
Plan to replace JJ&F meets with opposition, skepticism Palo Alto officials demand more information about proposed College Terrace Centre market by Gennady Sheyner
A
proposal for a new grocery store at College Terrace Centre in Palo Alto proved to be a tough sell Monday night, with city officials bemoaning a lack of transparency and demanding more information about lease terms for the new market. By a unanimous vote, a highly skeptical City Council agreed that it doesn’t have enough information to determine whether the proposed store, J&A Family Market, would be comparable in quality to JJ&F Market, which operated on the corner of College Avenue and El Camino Real for more than six decades before it was sold in 2010 and then closed in 2013. In sending the proposal back to the drawing board, the council effectively
gave James Smailey, son of developer Patrick Smailey and operator of J&A Family Market, a choice: Give us more details, or we’ll ask for another grocer. During a long and occasionally tense discussion Monday, council members criticized the project team for failing to disclose to the city pertinent information. Though Smailey submitted the lease agreement to the city, key information was redacted, including rent amount, the security deposit and the number of parking spaces allotted to the grocery store. It didn’t help that Smailey has no prior experience in the industry and that he declined to provide to the city the names of key advisers who would help him
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Page 12 • August 15, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
operate the store. Though the city’s consultant, Sutti Associates, confirmed that Smailey’s advisers would have “qualified credentials to participate in managing and advising the owners of J&A Family market,� this did little to assuage the council’s concerns. Councilwoman Karen Holman argued that it would be an “abdication of our responsibility� to base the approval on a consultant’s judgment. Councilman Larry Klein said that the burden should be on the applicant to demonstrate that the new market would match the quality of JJ&F. “Your insistence on keeping everything confidential makes it impossible for the council ... for us to make that determination,� Klein said. The Garcia family, the original owners of JJ&F, left Palo Alto just months after the council approved the College Terrace Centre, a block-long development at 2180 El Camino Real that includes 38,904 square feet of office space, eight units of affordable housing and a new grocery store. The council gave the project the green light — and approved controversial “planned community� zoning — after tense meetings in which development supporters urged city officials to “Save JJ&F.� Because preserving a neighborhood supermarket was the chief “public benefit� of the College Terrace Centre, the council stipulated in its approval that the new grocer, if other than John Garcia, would be subject to the city’s approval. This approval would be granted unless the city finds that the new tenant “is not likely to be comparable in quality of products and service as JJ&F.� The council had a hard time on Monday making any such finding. Councilmen Greg Scharff and Pat Burt each questioned the applicant and his attorney, Michael C. Polentz. Scharff asked whether Polentz is willing to provide an unredacted copy of the lease. “The answer is no,� Polentz responded. “We are not providing it in a public forum.�
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vacations to do this. It took a lot of coordination to make this thing work,� he said. For her part, Jones is ready to move on. She doesn’t want to do any more interviews after four years in the spotlight and being the subject, at times, of media misinformation. But Chen said Jones can’t wait to settle into her home. Sometimes, she’ll come and sit in her living
City Council, urged the council to defer the decision to a later date so that the city can do “due diligence� on Smailey’s proposal. “The community deserves to have another JJ&F type of market,� Kou said. “The developer agreed to this to get approval for this development. Keep them to it.� Doria Summa, who lives in College Terrace, cited the project’s rocky history and also urged the council not to approve the proposed grocer. “Unfortunately, the history of the project has been marked by manipulation and a lack of transparency on the part of the applicant’s team,� Summa said, “and this seems to be continuing.� The council also heard from James Smailey, whose background is in construction and property management. “Everyone wants to crucify me because I want to take a shot at this and make it work. I don’t want to open doors and put all my money and time and effort into it and just walk away,� he said. Even as Smailey acknowledged
his lack of grocery-store background, he said he is experienced in providing customer service and is committed to being at the store “seven days a week� to make it work. “I want to be the greeter. I want it to be a warm and friendly atmosphere — to have a successful grocery store.� He also responded to speakers’ characterization of his proposed store as a “startup.� “I’m sorry, but your whole city is based on startups,� Smailey said, noting that this is what makes Palo Alto and Silicon Valley what they are. Smailey’s attorneys said the team has been looking for other potential grocers to fill the space. Polentz said the applicants have had “commercial real estate brokers pounding the pavement,� looking for established grocers to come forward. “No one has,� Polentz said. While the consultant concluded that J&A “has the retail team and strategy to be successful from its opening day and into the future,� the council seemed to find it hard to believe. “I was very disappointed in the applicant’s unwillingness to share the lease terms,� Scharff said. “I’m very disappointed that the applicant was unwilling to provide the information about consultants. “We have to make a decision based on record. Without the information, it’s impossible to make the decision.� Holman agreed and said she didn’t buy Smailey’s “startup� argument. “Yes, it is a town of startups,� Holman said. “But this is not a private venture; it’s a public benefit. It has very different consequences if it should fail.� Klein, who made the motion to require more information from Smailey’s team, said he cannot decide on the basis of the record because “the record is inadequate.� “The applicant has chosen not to provide us with critical information,� Klein said. “They have chosen to do that, and it’s their problem.� Q
room and just take it all in. “Before November, she didn’t feel she could be in there. But when she saw the walls go up and the windows, she got really excited. She’s seen it all come together,� Chen said. Once Jones is settled back in, Rebuilding Together Peninsula, Ackley and the volunteers will begin the second phase to restore Jones’ life. They’ll raise funds to repair the day care center playhouse and replace the playground equipment. At
a minimum, they must raise $70,000, Ackley said. Chen said they won’t leave until they’ve given Jones back everything she lost — her home and her livelihood. Anyone wishing to help complete the playground and center can send donations to The Jones Fund, c/o Rebuilding Together Peninsula, 841 Kaynyne St., Redwood City, CA 94063. Q Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.
When questioned by Burt, Polentz maintained that the lease between the building owner and the new grocer has already been submitted to the city attorney, who approved it. He then specified that this was a “form lease,� prompting Burt to point out that the form, without actual numbers, is “in anyone’s mind quite different than conditions of the lease.� “The form and the substance are not the same,� Burt said, challenging Polentz. “That starts to undermine credibility tonight.� Council members weren’t the only skeptics. Numerous speakers at the public hearing raised metaphorical flags about the proposal and urged the council not to approve it. Lydia Kou, a Barron Park resident who is running for
‘Everyone wants to crucify me.’ —James Smailey, operator, proposed J&A Family Market