The Merced city council voted down Monday a development proposal to build four multistory commercial office buildings next to a residential development in North Merced.
Local homeowners had been criticizing the project for weeks, arguing the development would dangerously increase traffic near a local elementary school and drastically reduce the standard of living for residents.
Proponents shot back with promises that the project would create a significant number of construction jobs, as well as lure doctors and other professionals to the area.
However, in the end, a flood of public comments washed away the proposal.
During Monday's city council meeting, only council members Mike Murphy and Josh Pedrozo voted in favor of a rezoning of the parcel in question from "residential" to "commercial office," a step necessary for the project to move forward.
"I thought it was a common-sense project," Pedrozo said. "We as a council have decided that economic development was going to be one of our priorities. We have to start encouraging entrepreneurs."
However, many people, including Mayor Stan Thurston, expressed concern that there was already an abundance of vacant office space in the area. "The proponents never quite addressed the need for this building. Many people, including myself, mentioned that fact — where's the need?" he said, adding a concern that many people who might have moved into the building would have simply relocated from other parts of the city. "It doesn't help just to change location within the city. That doesn't create jobs."
Pedrozo disagreed, saying many physicians would not have moved because they own their own offices. He also said the facility would have offered amenities not available to many professionals in the area. "The unfortunate thing is the developer focused too much on the medical side," he said. "It could have been used for lawyers, professionals, research and development."
According to a contracted analysis by Economic and Planning Systems Inc., the project would have generated about $482,000 of annual revenue for the city and county.
The analysis also found the project would result in bringing about 518 new jobs to the area, a major factor in generating the estimated new revenue.
However, the report also stated that the jobs calculation didn't take into account "job loses that may occur at other job sites in the county because of competition from the project. As such these estimates do not represent net new jobs."
In response to concerns, but to no avail, the developer, V&S Real Estate, tried to sweeten the deal with several mitigation efforts and other amenities — including a crosswalk, 30- to 50-foot-tall trees to preserve privacy for local homeowners, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified buildings, and preferential treatment for local contractors bidding on the project.
The development was planned for a 7 1/2-acre parcel just south of Mercy Medical Center on the southwest corner of Mercy Avenue and Mansionette.
Reporter Joshua Emerson Smith can be reached at (209)385-2486 or
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