Get the Facts

It's important to us that you have the FACTS!

Question: Is the reason Developers Diversified Realty is using the initiative process because DDR lost their majority on the Board of Supervisors so now they want to try an end run around good planning and the democratically elected representatives we chose to serve us as Mendocino County Supervisors?
Answer: No. To make a claim that DDR is somehow, all of a sudden, doing an end run around elected officials is absurd. DDR attempted no less than 3 times to process its project through the normal public hearing process and could not even get it done when it had an apparent 3-2 vote in favor. It is obvious now that the county’s inability to move land use legislation, namely the UVAP, through this process gives DDR no hope of ever getting a vote through the “normal” process. Many citizens agreed and urged DDR to take the land use and zoning legislation to the people to decide.

Question: Some are saying that the DDR initiative is a bold and total usurpation of all local government authority and local government planning.  And it allows a Mega-Mall even larger than originally suggested by DDR when it first acquired the Masonite Site. Is this true?
Answer: No. As stated above DDR made several attempts at submitting applications and the county has not demonstrated it has the ability to complete any type of “local land use planning”. The original 2005 application proposed 695,253 square feet of all retail uses. The preferred schematic alternate in the specific plan has 598,325 square feet of retail uses and 158,800 square feet of non-retail uses including 26 units of residential, 37 Live-work units and a hotel. This plan represents 21% coverage of the site meaning 79% of the site will not be occupied by buildings.

Question: Is it true that if passed the initiative will become law without any environmental review of any of DDR’s plans.
Answer: State law exempts land use legislation, which is approved by initiative, from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As stated before DDR tried numerous times without success to submit an application and have the county act as lead agency during an EIR process that DDR would have funded. Knowing that the initiative process was exempt from CEQA, DDR went ahead and had many technical studies prepared and included mitigation measures in the specific plan even though they were not required (See Appendix B of Specific Plan).

DDR has had more public input on this project than would normally be found in any project of this size.  DDR sought out, on its own, input from many groups and individuals in the Ukiah Valley. In 2007 alone over 20 facilitated listening sessions were held, without DDR representatives attending, where the facilitator was able to move the debate from a stated “position” about the project (which is normally all you get in a public hearing process) to a very productive discussion on the wants and needs of the community. As a result of these meetings DDR was able to distill the input down into seven distinct common interests. The designers, local firm Ruff + Associates, developed several alternatives for the site using those seven common interests as the guiding principals of the design. These conceptual alternatives were then presented to the public in March of 2008 during 3 separate meetings advertised as community forums. Attendance at each of these forums averaged 100 people. The design, as illustrated conceptually today, in the specific plan is a far cry from the “retail only” plan proposed in 2005 and is a direct result of the community input DDR sought out and obtained. Also DDR has committed to using solar technology and other green techniques in the specific plan area as a result of this input.

Question: Will traffic be unbearable?
Answer: No. As a part of preparing the specific plan DDR prepared extensive traffic models with scoping input from Caltrans, MCOG and MDOT.  As a result, measures were developed that mitigate the traffic impacts discovered in the studies.  The mitigation measures can be found in Appendix B of the Specific Plan and are required before any development can open.

Alternate modes of transportation will also be incorporated into the site to lessen the dependence on automobiles. The specific plan allows for the possibility of a new mass transit center for the Mendocino Transit Authority, new bus routes through the site, and an interconnected system of bicycle and pedestrian paths.

Question: Will Mendocino Crossings be a 800,000 square foot “mega-mall”?
Answer: No. Mendocino Crossings will not be a mega-mall. It will be a mixed-use, environmentally sensitive, open-air development. The proposed specific plan allows for a mix of retail, multifamily residential, entertainment uses and light industrial.

Question: Does the Ukiah Valley really need additional retail?
Answer: Yes. Independent economic analyses confirm what many residents already know: Residents shop in Santa Rosa and at other locations outside of the county. Approximately $169 million dollars in retail sales is currently “leaking” from Mendocino County and this figure does not take into account the costs associated with gasoline or the impact on the environment from cars traveling many miles to reach shopping locations.

To confirm the magnitude of retail leakage from Mendocino County, Costco indicated that Mendocino County residents are spending $50 million dollars at their store in Santa Rosa. This leakage figure makes it clear why Costco has made an effort, for over five years, to find a suitable location in the Ukiah area.

Question: Did Developers Diversified Realty steal the Costco deal from the city?
Answer: No. Costco approached Developers Diversified Realty after they were unsuccessful in their negotiations with Ukiah. Costco has considered several properties in the region and found that the former Masonite site is ideal for a Costco store.  They also discovered that if they located at the Mendocino Crossings site the use of public subsidies would not be required as they would have been at the Ukiah airport site.

Question: Can a mixed-use retail center provide well paying jobs?
Answer: Yes. Mendocino Crossings will create an estimated 700 new jobs at various wage levels, plus potentially several hundred additional jobs during construction. Many of these jobs will be living wage positions that will include health and other benefits.

Question: Does the Ukiah Valley have a shortage of industrially zoned land?
Answer: No. Allegations that there is a shortage of industrial land are completely false.
Approximately 346 acres of industrial-zoned land will still exist in the County after Developers Diversified Realty's property is developed. The former Masonite site is zoned for heavy, rather than light industrial use, which is arguably inappropriate for a location close to residences and the Ukiah urban core. Heavy industrial uses are not appropriate gateways to a community, thus arguing for a lighter, more site-sensitive use. Developers Diversified Realty intends to incorporate light industrial uses on the site, including live-work units.

Question: Will the development project drain Ukiah's water resources?
Answer: No. The source of water for the development is unregulated ground water in a well that is privately owned by Developers Diversified Realty. It will not impact other regulated water sources in the Ukiah Valley.

Question: Will Ukiah fund services for the new development, yet not receive associated tax revenue?
Answer: The County, rather than the City, would see increased tax revenue, even though the City may provide public services. For this reason Developers Diversified Realty encourages a tax-sharing agreement between the City and County. Additionally, since the project site is within the County's redevelopment area, there is great potential to create a sizable redevelopment fund from the increased tax increment.

Furthermore, both on and offsite infrastructure improvements for the development would be paid for by the shopping center's tenants, utilizing a special bond. Therefore, the improvements will not be a financial burden on area taxpayers.

Question: Will this retail center look and feel like retail developments found in cities throughout the region?
Answer: No. This mixed-use development will be uniquely designed for Mendocino County and blend seamlessly into the Ukiah area. The mixed-use nature of the site will include residential (live-work, apartments, and/or residential over retail), commercial (restaurants and retailers), light industrial (live-work, potential adjacent 40 acres), and public uses (mass transit center, community plaza, community center, parks and gardens, pedestrian and bicycle paths, and a potential new railroad depot).

Additionally, this project will be the first solar-powered mixed-use development in the County. Other environmentally sensitive technologies are planned as well, such as a variety of pedestrian-oriented amenities, connections, and walks.