News Blog
Corral de Tierra Shopping Center a Go
July 13, 2011
It may go down as Take A Developer Out For a Latte Day: July 12, the County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to approve the Corral de Tierra Shopping Village on the corner of Highway 68 after hearing hours of public comment, much of it from Corral residents and supporters who said they were clamoring for a neighborhood coffee shop and grocery store. Supporters significantly outnumbered detractors of the project.
Scaled back to just under 100,000 square feet, about half of what developer Omni Resources, owned by the Phelps family, originally proposed, Supervisor Dave Potter still said the project was too big and would need to be about halved to get his support. Eric Phelps says the project has already been shrunk to the lowest possible size that would make it economically feasible, and the family's invested upwards of $1.8 million in getting approval.
"They have a closed sign for business here in Monterey County and I hope they can change that and say, hey we’re open for business here," Phelps said in an interview before the hearing.
Supervisor Lou Calcagno was the swing vote, and decided to vote for the project after the Phelpses agreed to demolish an old gas station on the property that Calcagno considers an eyesore. Supervisor Jane Parker joined Potter in opposing the project, while Supervisors Fernando Armenta and Simon Salinas wholeheartedly embraced the development as an economic engine for the neighborhood.
The project returns to the board Aug. 30 for a final vote on some technical updates regarding traffic and groundwater.
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