Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Appeal withdrawn, no 7-Eleven

Opponents of a 7-Eleven in Claremont will be happy to hear the convenience store has withdrawn their appeal of a negative Planning Commission decision. In other words, they're waving the white flag over their fight to open a store at Mills and Foothill.

The city council was scheduled to have a public hearing tonight at the council meeting and decide whether to overturn the Planning Commission decision. The item will not be discussed at tonight's meeting and the commission's original decision stands.

It would seem that the business applicant did not like its chances of getting 3 out of 5 votes at tonight's meeting. "They could tell which way the winds were blowing with the neighborhood and on the council," as one observer commented.

For now, neighborhood opponents of 7-Eleven can claim victory over the unwanted business. The Mills/Foothill building owner will have to go back to the drawing board and find a tenant willing to pay the high rent being demanded and, at the same time, be embraced by the neighbors.

But in this economy, it's certainly not easy to attract new businesses. The city might be stuck with an empty building at that corner for several more months.

I'd love to hear some viable suggestions for a successful business that area residents would regularly shop at in that building. Any thoughts?

No comments:

Post a Comment