Wednesday night's Lodi City Council meeting could determine whether the Reynolds Ranch project can double its retail component. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Proposal divides city leaders

Questioned by some, Reynolds Ranch changes up for council vote Wednesday

More shopping, but also more traffic.

Additional sales tax revenue, a new hotel and senior care center, but also angry residents right next door.

Those are a few topics the Lodi City Council will debate Wednesday night as it considers a request to make Reynolds Ranch a more compact, retail-focused center.

The council OK'd the project two years ago, making way for the largest mixed-use project in Lodi's history.

It's partially under construction along Harney Lane, just west of Highway 99.

Initial plans called for nearly 100 acres of homes, a K-12 school and 40.5 acres of commercial space, plus the nearly complete Blue Shield office building.

But with the crumbling housing market, developer Dale Gillespie has asked to slice away nearly 19 acres of homes, and has also cut plans for the school.

In their place, he's asked to expand the retail area to 75.6 acres, build senior homes and a graduated senior care center.

It's a proposal that has split city leaders.

City Council members Phil Katzakian and Susan Hitchcock provide perhaps the most stark contrast:

"Obviously, there's no interest in homes. You've got to be able to adapt to these things," Katzakian said from his office at Lodi Printing Co., several phones ringing in the background.

" ... If there's a need for retail, yeah. Let's accommodate them. I think it's the right thing to do there," Katzakian added.

Hitchcock, who opposed Reynolds Ranch's initial plans, said the proposed changes amount to "piecemeal" planning.

She went on to describe them as "planning at its worst."

"This is like planning at the dais rather than planning for the future — and I have a problem with that," the councilwoman said by cell phone, as she drove home from her job as a principal at a north Stockton elementary school.

The changes would allow for 750,000 square-feet of retail space, 400,000 square-feet more than first planned.

They'd also create a lot more traffic: Daily vehicle trips generated by the project would jump to 50,000, up from 28,000.

Lodi's planning commissioners were divided on Gillespie's request earlier this summer. Four voted to recommend it for approval, while three expressed concerns that the alterations were too drastic.

Several residents who live near the site on Stockton Street have spoken against the plans to add more retail. They thought new homes, not big box stores, would surround their small, rural neighborhood. Others have said they simply want to leave the area regardless of what Reynolds Ranch becomes.

While there are questions about the proposals, such requests to significantly change a project are "not uncommon," said Lodi's interim development chief, Rad Bartlam. "Two years ago, when Reynolds Ranch was approved, who could have predicted how crazy the economic markets would be?," Bartlam asked.

With many city leaders advocating for more retail in Lodi, Bartlam said approving Reynolds Ranch's expansion plans is a smart move. Gillespie has said two anchor retailers are lined up to join the development, though he has not named which ones.

Bartlam noted an expansion of retail space at Reynolds Ranch will not cut into the commercial acreage set aside in Lodi's next General Plan — a document that maps out future growth.

Bartlam will recommend to city leaders a preferred land use map for the General Plan later this fall.

Writing in a report on the Reynolds Ranch request, Bartlam said:

" ... there is currently strong interest on the part of the retail sector in this site. The applicant is attempting to take advantage of this opportunity which the city feels is very positive from both a revenue standpoint and the additional goods and services ...

... We believe that it is good planning to be able to provide the variety of retail outlets that folks in Lodi are now traveling elsewhere to access."

The council meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, at Carnegie Forum, 305 W. Pine St.

Contact reporter Chris Nichols at chrisn@lodinews.com.