Elk Grove - Some businesses may get the boot in Old Town Elk Grove - sacbee.com Elk Grove - Some businesses may get the boot in Old Town Elk Grove - sacbee.com:

Some businesses may get the boot in Old Town Elk Grove
By Loretta Kalb -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, June 30, 2005
Nearly three years ago, Bobby and Amarjeet Anand poured their life savings into an auto service and repair station on Elk Grove Boulevard.

The couple believed that if they worked hard, over time they could recover the $380,000 invested and save for retirement. They figured they could help their children, now 6 and 9, go to college.

What the Anands didn't figure on was that plans to update Old Town Elk Grove would make their business, the Complete Performance repair and gas station, a target for elimination.

The auto repair and 14 other businesses in Old Town Elk Grove would become "nonconforming uses" through changes in the Elk Grove Old Town Special Planning Area, a stretch that centers on Elk Grove Boulevard between Elk Grove Florin and Waterman roads. Translated: An auto-glass shop, Shell gas station, U-Haul store and a rock-bark-sand sales operation would be the kinds of enterprises not included in Old Town's future.

"I don't want any changes," Bobby Anand said last week as he rang up two bags of chips for a customer in the tiny store attached to his business on Elk Grove Boulevard.

He said the community values his business, because he sells propane, provides good customer service and pays plenty of taxes.

"We like what we do," he said. "We can't afford changes."

The city has sought a solution.

The city Planning Commission recommended the changes in the Old Town area but suggested a lifeline. Existing automotive and light industrial businesses could remain unless the owners sold or expanded them or they were damaged by a natural disaster.

Once sold, however, the new owners would have no assurance that the businesses could continue. Any buyer would have five years to get a certificate of nonconformance from the city. There would be no guarantees.

Some owners worry that any restriction won't work.

Who is going to buy a business that might not be allowed to continue operating, asked Patrick Ramel, owner of the Elk Grove Auto Clinic in Old Town.

"That's a scary thing," Ramel told the City Council at its June 22 meeting. "This has the potential to affect the sale of my business, which is my retirement."

Dale Miles, operator of Elk Grove Shell, worried about the future of his business, too.

"I have operated (the station) for the last 17 years," Miles told the council. "If the existing business must be classified nonconforming, I would recommend it be classified without restriction."

Mike Wortell, president of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce, said Monday that Old Town transformation is important but that further compromise may be needed.

And Councilman Michael Leary said he wants the council to take a closer look, calling for a meeting with business owners and two council members before the full council takes up the issue again July 27.

Councilwoman Sophia Scherman seemed ready to find an alternative.

"I don't support the way it is presented to me," Scherman said, noting the difficulty of transforming a service station to another type of use.

But Councilman Rick Soares urged residents to consider the big picture.

"Your message was clear," Soares said to the business owners. "But if you travel through the summer, take some time to walk into old towns of other cities. They are vibrant. They are alive. Compare them with ours."

These days, Elk Grove's Old Town is dominated by congestion and road work, making any comparison difficult for now.

City contractors began a $4.7 million project to renovate streets, sidewalks and landscaping with decorative replacements two months ago. When that work is finished, merchants hope to draw new visitors to the area.

They spent plenty of time preparing for the changes.

The Old Town update options were aired during four public meetings from last October to April, although some people later said they received none of the notices.

Those who did attend signaled "they would not support new automotive or light industrial uses," said Bill Pable, a city Planning Division expert on Old Town who left last week to work in Florida. "In general, they wanted new uses to be retail, restaurant and pedestrian-oriented."

Tim O'Hara, who owned Elk Grove Glass for 31 years, hopes that, in the end, that won't mean excluding blue-collar businesses. O'Hara still owns the glass shop property, where Moule's Elk Grove Glass now is a tenant.

"I believe that this heavy commercial use is appropriate for the area," he said. "I feel that way about not just my property but all the properties in Old Town that enjoy heavy commercial use. They are an important part of Old Town."

Anand, owner of Complete Performance, said there should be a place for blue-collar work in the area's future. He has four employees, and both he and his wife work at the business.

And he said he has faith that his family will persevere.

"This is America," Anand said. "We work honestly, and we know at the end, there is going to be a light."

About the writer:

* The Bee's Loretta Kalb can be reached at (916)478-2641 or lkalb@sacbee.com.



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