Dollar General plan back before Lindsay council

The Lindsay City Council will decide the fate of a proposed Dollar General Store planned for downtown at Tuesday’s meeting.

After a Feb. 26 public hearing on the site plan proposed by the Embree Asset Group, council chose to bring the item back in order to evaluate the comments made during the hearing.

The city is once again recommending the council move forward with the project after deciding no revisions needed to made.

At the conclusion of the public hearing, city attorney Julia Lew said holding off would allow the city to “cross its T’s and dot its I’s.”

This came after former Lindsay resident and Fresno Attorney Richard Harriman pointed out the meeting packet was missing a negative declaration, a statement that the project would not result in significant environmental impacts.

Bill Zigler, Planning and Economic Development director, pointed out during his presentation on Feb. 26 that the negative declaration was available to the public at City Hall.

Three people spoke during the public hearing, all were against the proposed project that would bring a 9,100-square-foot retail building and two adjacent parking lots to the southwest corner of Hermosa Street and Mirage Avenue. The store would be in the city’s “central commercial” zoning district and lead to the demolition of the Citrus Exchange building.

Harriman also opposed the project because the city would lose the building that he said was an important piece of Lindsay history despite the building not meeting the state’s standard for historical resource.

The Embree Asset Group’s plan for the building would incorporate much of the look of the Citrus Exchange building and include a historical plaque being placed at the location.

At the Feb. 26 meeting, the council approved the site plan for a Family Dollar Store on the outskirts of town at the southeast corner of Mariposa and Highway 65.

Two public hearings are slated for Tuesday meeting. The first, will be a request to amend the city ordinance relating to water billing, delinquency and enforcement, and the second, will be a request to close and vacate Alameda Circle. Each of these will be first reading and introduction ordinances.

The Tulare County Association of Governments will make a presentation on a possible amendment to the Measure R expenditure plan.

The city will also be seeking authorization to submit a proposal to the Tulare County Transportation Authority asking for $1,000,000 in Measure R money to create a Pedestrian Pathways Network program. Initially, the focus would allow the city to connect the existing sidewalk network to Roosevelt School, which is located on the corner of Hickory Street and Sequoia Avenue. Funds could also be used at different locations throughout town.