What do you think about how Neiman Marcus is taking shape?

Rounding one of our downtown Walnut Creek corners recently, my eyes were suddenly filled with the sight of it. That would be the new Neiman Marcus store that is under construction and due to open next spring.

I'm always in downtown but there was something about the latest stage of construction of this 92,000-square foot luxury department store that made me stop and immediately think; "Wow. It's big!"

I'll leave it at that, because as we all know the effort to bring Neiman Marcus to Broadway Plaza was a mighty touchy subject here in town.

Remember Measure I? Before we had the contentious City Council election this past fall, we had the Measure I special election in the fall of 2009. It was part of a long, ugly and costly civic debate. There were lawsuits filed by longtime slow-growth advocates and annoying petition gatherers--paid for by a rival developer opposing Neiman Marcus in Walnut Creek--stopping us outside supermarkets.

As I reported back in 2009, developers on both sides of the debate about Neiman Marcus and Measure I spent around $2 million combined on their campaigns to sway Walnut Creek voters. Broadway Mall owner Macerich spent around $1.3 million on the Yes on I campaign, while Taubman Centers, which owns Concord's Sunvalley Mall and had hoped to develop a Neiman Marcus in San Ramon, spent $700,000.

In the end, 71 percent of Walnut Creek voters gave Measure I--and Neiman Marcus--a resounding yes, and the project was able to go forward.

Of course, the building is not finished yet. It will have lovely public art components, and it's hard to judge its final look and how it will fit into this valuable corner of downtown at Main Street and Mt. Diablo Boulevard.

Meanwhile, in a newly released Long Range Financial Plan for 2010-2018, the city says it expects sales tax revenues to increase 4 percent annually in the 2012-13 fiscal year and to see additional revenues coming in from Neiman Marcus.

Going, going ... David M. Brian store is coming down to make way for Neiman Marcus

It looks like something from Land of the Lost, but it's a giant excavator, knocking down and chewing up the former David M. Brian store to make room for--you know what--Neiman Marcus. 

The demolition started Thursday and will continue through June 4.  The entire 32,000-square-foot building is going to go, and the adjacent sidewalk will be closed off most days, but will be open nights and weekends. Part of the lane next to the construction site was also closed Friday.

Broadway Plaza will turn over the site to Neiman Marcus, which aims for a spring 2012 opening.

Meanwhile, anyone remember shopping in this soon-to-be-gone building when it was JC Penney?

Which Neiman Marcus construction look do you like best?

I wonder if lawsuits, petition drives, and a ballot initiative willl accompany this latest decision the city must make regarding the construction of a 92,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus in Broadway Plaza.

Macerich, the owner of Broadway Plaza, is asking the Design Review Commission to check out proposals for graphics that will go on the barricade that will surround the construction site for the new luxury department store. Macerich hopes that Neiman Marcus will be ready to open by the spring of 2012.

The barricade is necessary for safety reasons. It will consist of chain link fencing with a green mesh cover, and it will run along Mt. Diablo Boulevard, South Main Street, and the pedestrian corridor inside Broadway Plaza. During the course of the construction, the barricade will have to be moved many times, so Macerich is asking for a more temporary barricade--such as the fencing, rather than a plywood barricade.

Here are the three options. The options vary according to the number of panels containing graphics. The Design Review Commission will be considering the barricade plan and the three options at its meeting Wednesday evening.

Should Taubman be worried about its challenge of Broadway Plaza and Walnut Creek over Neiman Marcus?

UPDATE: Or rather, should Broadway Plaza owner Macerich and the City of Walnut Creek take action against Taubman Centers Inc. for its anti-Neiman Marcus efforts, in the same way that a rival mall developer and a city in Connecticut did? Of course, some would say, that Macerich and Walnut Creek brought some or all of this on themselves....What do you think?

It looks like Taubman Centers Inc. will be paying out $34 million for delaying for a year a rival developer's effort to build a shopping mall in West Hartford, Connecticut.

The Hartford Courant says that Michigan-based Taubman agreed to pay all these millions to settle a lawsuit filed after it organized and bankrolled citizen legal challenges to the construction of a new mall in West Hartford's downtown, a few miles from one of its own malls.

Sound familiar? 

Taubman, which owns Sunvalley shopping mall in Concord, organized and bankrolled citizen legal challenges and a political campaign aimed to stop retail rival Macerich, which owns Broadway Plaza, from bringing a new Neiman Marcus to downtown Walnut Creek. Taubman also hoped to bring a Neiman Marcus to San Ramon's long-planned city center. Neiman Marcus had shown interest in San Ramon, but, in the end, chose Walnut Creek instead.

In the West Hartford case, the Hartford Courant says that Taubman, "the parent company of Westfarms mall paid $34 million to the developers of Blue Back Square [in downtown West Hartford], compensation for a protracted legal battle that delayed the opening of the retail-residential complex by a year."

The story goes on to say:

The payment ... ends a lawsuit filed in 2007 by developers of the Blue Back retail-residential complex. The suit sought damages for, among other things, lost revenue, higher financing costs and increased construction expenses.


The lawsuit claimed that Taubman organized and bankrolled citizen legal challenges to Blue Back in hopes of preventing the retail rival from being built a few miles from Westfarms.


Blue Back opened in the fall of 2007, a year later than first scheduled. The opening coincided with the onset of a severe economic recession.

And another potential worry for Taubman?

A similar lawsuit filed against Taubman by the town is pending. Town officials allege that the delay resulting from Taubman-financed opposition added to the town's portion of the cost of Blue Back and resulted in lost tax revenue. The town is seeking $4.5 million in damages.

Walnut Creek voters in November overwhelmingly approved Measure I, an initiative which will allow Broadway Plaza to build a new 92,000-square-foot department store at the corner of South Main Street and Mt. Diablo Boulevard. Neiman Marcus said it intends to occupy that spot.

It was a costly battle for Macerich and Taubman--and the City of Walnut Creek. Macerich spent around $1.3 million on the Yes on I campaign, while Taubman Centers spent $700,000. The city had to fork out money for the special election, plus the staff costs and time associated with addressing the legal challenges.

Was Walnut Creek's Neiman Marcus gain San Ramon's loss?

Was perusing the Contra Costa Times, and I came across this bit about how the start of construction of San Ramon's "long-awaited" city center project will be put off "a little longer."


"The {San Ramon] City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to extend until 2015 certain portions of its agreement with San Ramon-based Sunset Development for a new civic and retail destination. Construction of the city center was supposed to have already begun, but the slumping economy put a kink in the timeline. Now the first office building may be constructed in 2010, with perhaps an opening in 2012, depending on the economy."


Hmm. Could the loss of Neiman Marcus as a retail anchor have also figured into this new development?


This new city center project, with Sunset Development founder Alex Mehran as a major player, was to be 2 million square feet. And it would feature a new city hall, office space, public plaza, shops, restaurants, hotel, movie theater and housing.


One thing this Times story doesn't mention is that San Ramon really, really wanted a high-en department store, like Neiman Marcus, to come to its new City Center. And Neiman Marcus looked very seriously at the San Ramon proposal--as Neiman Marcus executives disclosed during Walnut Creek city deliberations on the Broadway Plaza project.


But San Ramon's Neiman Marcus hopes stalled when Broadway Plaza expressed interest, and the rest is--we hope--Measure I/mega-millionaire-developer-battle history. And, if you're Neiman Marcus, who are you going to choose? A city with a historically and geographically established downtown and retail center, or a city with no downtown--as of yet.

I don't mean to knock San Ramon. It has a lot of other things going for it, just not a downtown. Also, the construction of a new department store in Broadway Plaza--and it's never been guaranteed to be Neiman Marcus--may be a mixed blessing for Walnut Creek.

Do you like valet parking?

Valet parking is becoming more common in Walnut Creek, especially now during the holidays with the Downtown Business Association offering valet parking for $5 to $7. But prior to the start of this program on November 20, there had already been valet parking for the Cheesecake Factory in the parking garage at Plaza Escuela and in the parking garage for Nordstrom.

We dodged a very massive valet parking bullet with the original proposal for a new Neiman Marcus in Broadway Plaza. The original project plans would have necessitated transforming the entire South Main Street garage into valet parking during peak shopping times. That proposal faced legal challenges, which forced changes to the project--including the elimination of
the valet parking scheme. The rest, I guess, is history, with Walnut Creek voters saying "yes" on November 3 to a more modest new department store project, sans valet parking, in Broadway Plaza.

I call the original proposal, with is massive valet parking scheme, “annoying” because I am so not a fan of valet parking. But by making this statement, I am not objecting to the holiday valet parking program, coordinated by the city, the Downtown Business Association, and Signature Parking. This program may provide an elegant solution to holiday shopping and parking hassles.

My aversion to valet parking is strictly personal, and perhaps neurotic.

I’m just wondering if anyone else out there shares this aversion as well.

In my job, I have had the opportunity to eat at very nice restaurants or stay in very nice hotels—the kind where you have to drive up and valet park. First of all, I drive a 10-year-old Toyota, with its fair share of scratches, bangs, and rust forming on the rim of my driver’s side door. I always feel self-conscious pulling up to a hotel behind a shiny new BMW or Porsche.

The only benefit of having a crappy older car (which runs very well, by the way) and turning it over to a valet is that I’m not going to get all that bummed if it gets bumped.

But my biggest problem with valet parking is that I feel like I’m giving up control and access to easy mobility. Maybe this is an American thing, with our love of our wheels. I don't know. Or it's more evidence of my own neurosis. This sense of giving up control becomes more of an issue if you go to a hotel, where your car gets parked somewhere--maybe blocks away--and then you have to call the front desk and wait for someone to bring your car around if you want to leave the property. If I'm visiting a beautiful place with lots to sight-seeing opportunities, I just want to be able to leave my room, hop into my car, and go.

Valet parking would never be my first, second, or even third choice in Walnut Creek. I gave in to local valet parking when I attended a family dinner at Scott’s. When dinner was done and we said our good-byes, it irked my neurotic, impatient self that I couldn’t just walk out of that restaurant, find my car in the underground garage that serves that restaurant, and go. I had to wait! The night we went, there was one guy on duty, and he was a bit overworked, so it took me, like 10 minutes, to get my car.

But maybe you like valet parking. I have a co-worker who very much likes it, and was even excited about the original Neiman Marcus/Broadway Plaza valet parking proposal. He's the kind of guy who drives a cool-looking car, dresses well, and probably thinks valet parking makes things easier for him. He probably also likes that VIP feeling that a valet parking service can provide. (By the way, doesn't the guy in this silhouetted image remind you of Mad Men's Don Draper?)

To me, valet parking just feels so restrictive.

But again, I'm not voicing any general disapproval of this holiday valet parking program. I'm just stating my personal valet parking "issue." Think I should talk to my therapist about it?

If using this downtown valet parking service makes sense to you, helps to ease your holiday parking and shopping stress, go for it! Here are more details from Signature Parking's blog:

The program will incorporate several of our existing curbside locations at Il Fornaio and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse alongside a new location at 1250 Locust Street, (The Old Veterans Building Lot) located directly across from Century Theaters. The Fee for valet parking at the new Locust Street location will be $5 and all other participating locations throughout town will charge $7.

The Public Valet Locations can be easily identified by valet podiums with large signs indicating “Public Valet Parking”, with valet attendants in Red Polo Shirts.

It is our goal to make valet parking a convenient and easily accesible parking option for all visitors of downtown Walnut Creek. As an added convenience, customer of the service will be able to drop off accumulated shopping purchases at the valet station for delivery to their vehicles, making extended shopping and dining outings easier.

Could the Neiman Marcus battle really, truly, finally be over?

After a resounding defeat in the November 3 election, opponents of plans to expand Broadway Plaza with a new 92,000-square-foot department store have droppped their lawsuit against the city.

The Contra Costa Times Elisabeth Nardi reports that plaintiffs Ed Dimmick, Ann Hinshaw, and Selma King asked a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge to dismiss their lawsuit, which claimed that the environmental impact report for the proposed Neiman Marcus failed to properly analyze the traffic and parking effects of the project.

Although 71 percent of Walnut Creek voters said "yes" to Measure I, allowing the new department store project to go forward, I wondered, and perhaps some others did, too, whether these election results really signaled the end of this long, ugly, costly civic battle.

Dimmick, Hinshaw, and King had proven themselves to be pretty feisty opponents to this project, and they had the deep-pocket financial backing of Taubman Centers, the owners of Sunvalley shopping mall. Surely, I thought, there would be another legal challenge to the project in their--and our--future.

Well, the Times says this request to dismiss the lawsuit means that "the last remaining stand" against Neiman Marcus has "disappeared." King acknowledged that "there isn't anything else we can do." She also patted herself and her co-plaintiffs on the back: "We fought a good fight as best as we could."

But ... the plaintiffs asked that the suit be dismissed "without prejudice"--which doesn't stop the plaintiffs from filing again in the future, if, as King said, "anything comes up at all that's going in the opposite direction (of what was approved)."

Walnut Creek voters say "yes" to Neiman Marcus

Well, officially, Walnut Creek voters said "yes" to a new 92,000-square-foot department store in Broadway Plaza at the corner of South Main Street and Mt. Diablo Boulevard. Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus has said it fully intends to occupy that spot.

With all precincts reporting, 71 percent of the 21,398 Walnut Creek voters casting ballots, said "yes" to Measure I--the Broadway extension measure. Nearly 29 percent said "no."

It's been a costly battle for the two developers on either side of Measure I--to the tune of around $2 million combined. Broadway Mall owner Macerich spent around $1.3 million on the Yes on I campaign, while Taubman Centers, which owns Concord's Sunvalley Mall and had hoped to develop a Neiman Marcus in San Ramon, spent $700,000.

So, it looks like Neiman Marcus will be coming to town.

Really? Truly? Could this whole brouhaha finally be over? Will slow-growth advocates who opposed the new Broadway Plaza department store, as well as Taubman, challenge the results of the election in court? One city official I talked to wondered if the election would truly settle this battle, especially if the No on I side loses. Taubman has been known, in other communities, to dig in for a long time and spend lots of money to assert its will.

Well, one No on I leader seemed resigned to accept the results of Tuesday's election. Selma King told the Contra Costa Times that she was ready for election day and for the campaign to be over. "I have lost more elections then I have won," King said. "I am able to say that we did the best we could."

Walnut Creek's pro-Neiman Marcus Measure I leading so far

In early results, the Contra Costa County elections division shows that Measure I, which would allow Broadway Plaza to bring a new 92,000-square-foot department store into downtown Walnut Creek, is receiving a 70 percent favorable approval. With three of 26 precincts reporting, 70 percent of Walnut Creek voters have said "yes" to Measure I; nearly 30 percent have said no.

These results cover around 14,000 votes cast so far.

Vote Tuesday!

Yeah, 2009 is an off-year for an election, and the ballot list isn't long, but try as much as you can to vote.

We've got some vitally important local races.

There's the election to decide our next local representative in the 10th U.S. Congressional District. The main contenders are Lt. Governor John Garamendi (Democrat) and San Ramon attorney David Harmer (Republican).

For those who live in Walnut Creek, you get to decide on the future of Broadway Plaza by voting "yes" or "no" on Measure I. A "yes" vote would allow Broadway Plaza to build a new department store--effectively, a Neiman Marcus--in downtown Walnut Creek.

Then there are the measures to extend parcel taxes for our local school districts: Measure G for the Acalanes Union High School District and Measure H for the Walnut Creek School District.

Good for you if you got your mail-in ballots in. And good for you if you've marked in time in whatever calendar you use to stop by your neighborhood polling place to vote.

Don't make the poor choice I made in last May's special election, when I didn't vote. Don't pull a Meg Whitman.

Come on, there's something very cool about getting to vote tomorrow. Those of us in the 10th congressional district get to decide on whom we want to send to Washington to represent us. Walnut Creek-ans get to decide on the enormously fateful question of whether they want a new luxury department store in town, and, we hope, put this whole Neiman Marcus controversy behind us. And property owners who live within two school district boundaries get to decide whether they think the schools need their financial help, via permanent parcel tax extensions.

Look, there is not a lot we can control in what's going on in the world, in this country, or even in this state. But we can make these local decisions that, especially with the school measures, affect us in an almost day-to-day way.

Tuesday election endorsements

No, not from me but from a more "reputable" sources, the Contra Costa Times and the San Francisco Chronicle:

Congressional District 10: Both newspapers give a thumbs up to Lt. John Garamendi. The Times says: "Garamendi's long record of service in public office makes him the best choice to represent residents in the district stretching from Fairfield through much of Contra Costa and into Livermore."

Walnut Creek's Measure I (what I'm calling the Neiman Marcus measure, even though, yes, I know, the intiative officially doesn't guarantee Neiman Marcus coming to Broadway Plaza, just a new department store): The Times says Yes.

Acalanes Union High School District's Measure G: The Times says Yes, because the district would be devastated if its $189 per parcel tax is not extended.

Walnut Creek School District's Measure H: The Times says Yes, because this extension of the $82 per parcel tax "is more critical than ever for operations."

Nearly $2 million spent on Measure I

Who's spending what on Measure I?

This is initiative that allows Walnut Creek voters to decide Tuesday on whether they want, effectively, a new 92,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus in downtown Walnut Creek. Here's what the Contra Costa Times is reporting today, after checking out the latest campaign finance documents filed by both sides on the issue.

$1.4 million--What Broadway Plaza owner Macerich Co. has contributed so far to the "Yes on I" campaign, spending $1 million so far.

$700,000--What Taubman Centers, the owner of Sunvalley Mall, has contributed to defeat Measure I, spending nearly all of it.

Plus: Yes for Walnut Creek, a group of residents and business leaders who support Measure I, have contributed $50,000.

UPDATE: (Above) The view from Sign Hill. Isn't that what you call it? At Ygnacio Valley and Homestead. As you may have noticed, Measure I opponents have not spent much money on campaign signs to post around downtown, unlike the Yes on I side. But one Taubman certainly hasn't expended much money on campaign signs to post around town, but one dedicated opponent of Measure I decided to get the message across the homemade, old-fashioned way with cardboard and magic markers.

The No on Measure I "virtual office"?

Each side in the race over Measure I claims that the other side is a funded by deep-pocket outside influences. Each side claims that the other side’s strings are being pulled by some grand puppet master, from outside the city, trying to exercise control over Walnut Creek’s economic and retail destiny.

Measure I is otherwise known as the Neiman Marcus debate. It asks Walnut Creek’s 42,000 voters whether they want a new, two-story 92,000 department store in Broadway Plaza. The store will most likely be a Neiman Marcus. There is no guarantee, but Neiman Marcus officials have said they are committed to coming to Walnut Creek.

By the way, if you want to view a handy-dandy Frequently Asked Questions guide to the whole issue, check out Elisabeth Nardi’s story in Monday’s Contra Costa Times.

Rival developers have heavily financed each side, spending more than $1 million combined. Those rival developers are Southern California-based Macerich, which owns Broadway Plaza, and Michigan-based Taubman Centers, which owns Sunvalley mall in Concord, and which was close to securing Neiman Marcus’ agreement to come to the planned San Ramon city center project.

The Yes on I people say that theirs is in the cause that is truly supported by locals, with more than 1,000 community leaders (including all five city council members), neighbors, and Rossmoor residents signing on to the Yes on I, Yes for Walnut Creek cause.

The No on I people say, on their website, that many residents support their cause, because they are concerned that the project will bring worse traffic, crowd downtown parking, and that Macerich’s “experimental” parking lifts and valet parking schemes “will now be allowed to spread throughout downtown.”

When it comes to local support, or, more accurately, a local presence, the Yes on I folks claim the upper hand, and specificaly in one respect. This is in regards to their headquarters versus the No on I headquarters--or its lack thereof.

Some Yes on I supporters recently contacted me to let me know that the headquarters for the No on I campaign is actually a “virtual office.”

Residents and Advocates for More Parking and Reduced Traffic (RAMPART), the anti-Measure I organization, lists its address in an office building on North California Boulevard. The office suite is operated by a business that rents out office space and “virtual office” space to individuals and small businesses.

I stopped by myself to check it out, asking the receptionist at the front desk of this eighth floor suite whether there were any RAMPART folks available to talk to about their campaign, or if they had any campaign literature available. She explained that no one with that organization is actually on site, and that, yes, they have rented out a “virtual office.”

On the Yes on I side, one supporter told me that their mailing address is a mailboxes shop near City Hall which is owned by the president of the Downtown Business Association, and who is one of the Yes for Walnut Creek’s volunteers. The Yes on I headquarters is at the former David M. Brian store in Broadway Plaza. This supporter added we “also have more than 175 volunteers working” on the campaign.

No on I spokesman Al Abrams responded to questions about the virtual office by saying: “That’s kind of a weird conclusion, based on the rental of temporary office space for a campaign, which is something that's done for all campaigns I've ever worked on in 30 years.”

He added: “The Yes on I people must be getting pretty desperate if that's the best argument they can make at this point in their campaign.”

Well, if you’re judging local support by who has managed to get the most campaign signs posted around downtown, and in the neighborhoods, the Yes on I side is scoring big time. Their signs are cropping up all over the place. (The above photos, by the way, were taken in front of homes in the same neighborhood near downtown.)

Meanwhile, I’ve only seen two modest No on I signs. They are posted in front of homes in residential neighborhoods near downtown, and the address of one of those homes is listed as being the home of Measure I opponent Selma King.

How are you going to vote in three hot local races?

A big election is coming November 3, and how are you going to vote in these three races? Participate in the poll at left. (BTW, hope these polls are working; first time I've played with these gadgets! Let me know of any complications.)

--Walnut Creek's Measure I: Do you want a new department store--a Neiman Marcus--to be built in Broadway Plaza?

--The 10th Congressional District: Who do you want to replace former U.S. Representative Ellen Tauscher? Lt. Governor John Garamendi, a Democrat, or San Ramon attorney David Harmer?

--Measures G and H: Both measures would permanently extend parcel taxes in school districts covering Walnut Creek. Acalanes Union High School District's Measure G would extend an $189-per-parcel tax. Walnut Creek's Measure H would extend an $82 per-parcel tax.

Guest Commentary on the Neiman Marcus debate: Rich Carlston explains his top 10 reasons for voting yes on Measure I position

Dear Readers:

I've invited representatives on both sides of the Measure I debate to share guest commentaries on CrazyinSuburbia. Measure I essentially asks Walnut Creek voters to say yes or no to allowing a new 92,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus--or another department store--to come to Broadway Plaza.

With these guest commentaries, I wanted to let both sides make their pitches. There's no doubt that what either side says will provoke comments, questions, and a strong desire to rebut. In part, that is what the message board is for, to comment, question, raise points for or against. But your comments can inspire follow-up questions, and we'll definitely want those answers before we go to the polls on this issue November 3.



Anyway, here is what Richard Carlston, has to say on why Walnut Creek residents should vote "yes" on Measure I. He is a co-chair of the Yes for Walnut Creek. He is also a longtime Walnut Creek resident, who has been active in community service for more than 25 years, starting first in the youth athletic and scouting programs. More recently, he has been active in the arts, the business community and am now a Parks, Recreation and Open Space commissioner.

I am voting Yes on Measure I for 10 very simple reasons:

1. More jobs. A new downtown anchor retail store means more jobs for the community, both good-paying construction jobs and jobs working in the new store. A “no” vote means no new jobs.

2. Better business environment for local merchants. Our locally owned merchants and restaurants rely on the strength of Broadway Plaza. Neiman Marcus shoppers will patronize our local merchants on Main and Locust streets and our local restaurants. That’s why the local merchants, Downtown Business Association, and the Chamber of Commerce fully support Measure I and Neiman Marcus coming to Broadway Plaza. A “no” vote is a vote against our local merchants and restaurants.

3. More tax revenues. In Walnut Creek, we enjoy a safe community, well-maintained roads, beautiful open space areas, an extensive array of parks and recreation facilities, a wonderful Lesher Center for the Arts, and more – because of our strong retail base. The sales tax revenue from Neiman Marcus will help us maintain our quality of life. What does a “no” vote do for our tax base? A “no” vote means no new sales tax revenues and further cuts in city services.

4. More and better parking. The language of the initiative is clear: Measure I mandates “175 additional spaces for continued self-parking by shoppers.” (Initiative Section 2.(7)) A “no” vote means no new parking.

5. Real downtown traffic and pedestrian safety improvements. A YES vote mandates that Broadway Plaza spend $1 million to improve how our downtown streets and parking work. A “no” vote means these improvements will not happen.

6. A store that fits our community. Broadway Plaza listened: The store will be just two stories tall and half the size of Nordstrom. Measure I restricts the size and the height to what we asked for.

7. Broadway Plaza--a good citizen and neighbor. Broadway Plaza has been part of Walnut Creek since 1951. In those 60 years, Broadway Plaza has helped us in hundreds of ways--supporting Animal Rescue Foundation, the Diablo Regional Arts Association, Wardrobe for Opportunity, the local food banks, the Walnut Creek Library Foundation, our schools, and so many others.

8. This project received no special treatment from City Hall. In fact, Broadway Plaza and the City did significantly more than was required to analyze the environmental impacts and develop appropriate mitigations. The community outreach effort involved dozens of public and community-based meetings and gathered the input of more than 2,000 community members. We can be proud of the process and confident in the results. This is city government as it ought to be.

9. The unwavering support of our community leaders. Measure I is endorsed by people we trust: All 5 of our City Council members, 10 former mayors, all of our city commissioners, and dozens of non-profit, civic and business leaders. We are standing firm in our service and commitment to our community. Read all our names at http://www.yesforwalnutcreek.org/. The opponents? The same three former mayors who hold the distinction of being the only incumbents to be defeated in their re-election bids – and one of the three no longer lives in California.

10. Yes for Walnut Creek, a true grassroots community-based effort. Hundreds of community members – from Rossmoor to the Woodlands, Quail Ridge to Livorna Estates – have not only endorsed Yes on Measure I but are walking their neighborhoods, calling neighbors, and attending meetings to speak in favor of the project. Hundreds of YES yard signs are popping up across the community. These are not hollow claims. The evidence is there for us to see.

Those are the 10 reasons I’m voting Yes on Measure I.

Guest Commentary on the Neiman Marcus debate: Al Abrams of RAMPART explains the No on Measure I position

Dear Readers:

I've invited representatives on both sides of the Measure I debate to share guest commentaries on CrazyinSuburbia. Measure I essentially asks Walnut Creek voters to say yes or no to allowing a new 92,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus--or another department store--to come to Broadway Plaza.

With these guest commentaries, I wanted to let both sides make their pitches. There's no doubt that what either side says will provoke comments, questions, and a strong desire to rebut. In part, that is what the message board is for, to comment, question, raise points for or against. But your comments can inspire follow-up questions, and we'll definitely want those answers before we go to the polls on this issue November 3. (Actually, I live in unincorporated Walnut Creek, so--boo-hoo--I don't get to vote

Anyway, here is what Al Abrams, a political consultant, working with the No on I group, RAMPARTWC, has to say:

Actually, most of the No on Measure I action is being done by the citizens in Walnut Creek who have been opposed to this project from the beginning, starting in 2008. They include three former Mayors, a former City Councilperson, a Planning Commissioner and others. They helped write the three referenda (all of which were successful having collected over 15,000 signatures of Walnut Creek registered voters) and they work every day making phone calls and distributing yard signs and bumper stickers.

The first referendum in 2008 led to the recission of the City Council's approvals of the project. The final two referenda, which were successful this past summer, were not placed on the November ballot by the City Council as they were supposed to be. The City Council was then sued by the members of RAMPART on behalf of the citizens of Walnut Creek. Superior Court

Judge David Flinn ruled that by ignoring the referenda, the Walnut Creek City Council had violated State laws in order to affect the outcome of an election. Their actions were described by the judge as "arbitrary and capricious". He said that the City Council had stomped on the fundamental democratic rights of the citizens of Walnut Creek. They were willing to sell their city down the creek and violate the rights of their own citizens, all for a developer of a retail store.

The City Council was then forced to repeal all of their approvals of the Neiman Marcus project, which they did in early September. But they had successfully delayed the situation enough to make it impossible for the referenda to be decided by the voters of Walnut Creek on the ballot. The County Registrar said it was too late. So the voters must send a message to City Council and see through this attempt to take away their democratic rights by rejecting Measure I.

According to Time Magazine (Sept. 18th edition), Neiman Marcus is in serious financial shape, laying off hundreds of employees and suffering hundreds of millions in losses. Their debt is in the billions. One recent writer to the Contra Costa Times pondered in a letter whether Neiman's would secretly like Measure I to fail so that they could nullify their 20-year lease with Macerich, the owner/developer of Broadway Plaza, and get out of town as soon as possible.

They're in no shape to build any new stores anywhere, especially in Walnut Creek. The phony Yes on Measure I promises of $400,000 in new sales tax revenue, 150 new jobs and 172 new parking spaces are pure fiction. Baloney might be a better word. Measure I would make permanent changes to the city's General Plan that not even the City Council could reverse.

Measure I is basically a sweetheart deal for a Southern California developer that gets it off the hook to provide new customer parking as the law now requires. Instead, they will be allowed to get around the law and use a variety of stacked up valet parking schemes and double-decker parking lifts in place of the new customer parking they are supposed to build. Measure I is a bogus initiative, written and financed by a developer whose only interest is self-interest. That's why they're willing to spend over $1 million so far to get what they want. Those are public numbers.

They've spent over $500,000 just for their initiative, Measure I. You don't do that as charity. It's all about profit. In truth, Neiman Marcus isn't even specified in Measure I. The developer can put in any retailer it wants and no one will have the ability to stop it if Measure I passes. Unless the voters get the facts, they will create permanent law for the benefit of a single developer.

It's public record that Neiman Marcus has stated that they need tens of thousands of customers to come from a 50-mile wide radius in order for the store to succeed. That will bring in long parades of cars into the already congested downtown area taking up space on the streets.

Measure I is a recipe for parking and traffic nightmares downtown -- and the developer refuses to build any new parking spaces. No matter how you feel about having a Neiman Marcus store, and the odds are slight it will ever be built here, Measure I deserves to be defeated strictly on the basis that developer influence has warped the judgment of the City Council to the point where they had to be chastised by a Superior Court Judge for showing favoritism to affect an election.

It's shameful at the least, and should be worrisome to any person with a sense of fairness and decency. In my 30 years of providing public affairs counsel to companies and citizens, I have never seen a situation where a City Council, and a former Mayor, think that they know better than their own citizens about the future of their city. It's outrageous and dangerous. The people need to reclaim their voice, and show their strength with their votes and reject Measure I.

--Al Abrams, political consultant, RAMPARTWC, Residents and Advocates for More Parking and Reduced Traffic

Hot pursuit of the "No on Measure I" billboard truck as it cruises around the Creek, spreading its anti-Neiman Marcus message

As some of you have suspected, I don't have much of a life and don't have better ways to spend my time. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so easily distracted Sunday afternoon on my way to Safeway to pick up groceries for dinner.

I was going east on Newell Avenue, and up ahead (!)I see one of these billboard trucks that I heard that the RAMPARTWC backers were going to hire to visually broadcast to Walnut Creek voters the message that they should vote "no" on Measure I November 3.

Measure I would allow Broadway Plaza to build a new 92,000-square-foot department store--a Neiman Marcus, we have been told--on the site of the former David M. Brian store.

RAMPARTWC opposes Measure I because they believe the design of the new department store violates the city's General Plan and would bring unneeded traffic and parking congestion to downtown. RAMPART stands for "We Need Less Traffic and More Parking in downtown Walnut Creek." RAMPART supporters also point out that there is no guarantee that Neiman Marcus, which is facing financial woes in the recession, would come to Walnut Creek.

Anyway, I see the truck and decide I'm going to follow it and see where it goes. It makes a left onto South Broadway, and continues north, past Safeway, where I was going to shop, and on through Mt. Diablo Boulevard. It continues past the new library under construction and Civic Park.

Then, at Civic, it makes a left. I'm now right behind the truck, and will stay behind it for the next 45 minutes.

We take a right on North California Boulevard, and go north, along to where California merges with North Main.

Now, we're on North Main, and we stay on North Main for a while. I think the driver has figured out that I'm tailing him, especially when I signal left, just after he signals left, then I suddenly signal right, after he suddenly signals right, to turn onto Treat Boulevard.

Going east on Treat, the truck, even though it is not the most agile of vehicles, moves in and out of lanes. Maybe so the driver can see if he is being pursued by some Crazy woman in a busted up old Camry.

I wonder why we don't make that right at Bancroft, but instead go up Treat, past De La Salle and Ygnacio Valley high schools. We've crossed into Concord, right? Then, he makes the right onto Oak Grove Road, and goes northeast. I follow until we hit Ygnacio Valley Road.

Right turn. We go all the way west on Ygnacio Valley Road, past Shadelands, Heather Farm, John Muir Medical Center, and back into downtown. The truck continues on Ygnacio Valley Road past the BART station, then makes a sudden left, just before the Interstate 680 overpass, onto Oakland Boulevard.

We continue onto Oakland Boulevard, then left onto Trinity Avenue, then back to North California, where we make a right. It's at this point that I lose the truck temporarily. My car gets stuck at a stoplight as the truck makes its way south on California Boulevard.

At no point does the truck turn and move in to cruise closer to Broadway Plaza, the eye of the storm in this epic battle over allowing a new luxury retail department store to come to Walnut Creek's retail heart. Rather, the truck driver seems determined to keep his vehicle skirting the outskirts of downtown and of Broadway Plaza.

I catch up with the truck again, after it has turned left onto Newell, and then left again on South Broadway, where, just shy of Vic Stewart's, the truck pulls over to the side of the road. Th driver just hangs there for a bit, sitting in the cab of truck.

Maybe that's it? He's done for the afternoon? Or, he's just taking a break. Or he's calling into RAMPARTWC headquarters to report that he's being followed--maybe, he thinks, by one of those "Yes on Measure I" folks.

I continue on my way to grocery shop, and I think that about about one the mhe messages plastered on the billboard and touted by No on I residents. They say they worry about a new Broadway Plaza development because they think, perhaps correctly, that a new department store will add more traffic and congestion to Walnut Creek's streets and parking garage.

Yet, the No on I folks hire this truck to ride what are possibly multiple circuits around dowtown--adding to downtown's congestion.

Walnut Creek's mayor is right: There were better ways to use $1 million than to spend on the Neiman Marcus battle

One million dollars: That's what rival developers, on both sides of the Neiman Marcus battle, have spent since January in their fight over bringing this upscale retailer to Walnut Creek.

There is little over a month left to go before Walnut Creek voters go to the polls to decide on Measure I, which says "yes" or "no" to the 92,000-square-foot retailer coming to Broadway Plaza.

The anti-Neiman-in-Walnut Creek force, Taubman Centers, has spent $571,042 since January trying to defeat the measure, according to campaign finance documents filed September 24 and reported today by the Contra Costa Times. Taubman Centers had been hoping to defeat Walnut Creek's chances of winning the Neiman Marcus so that the Texas-based retailer would build a store in San Ramon's long-awaited new city center.

Meanwhile, the yes-on-Neiman-in-Walnut Creek force, Macerich Co., which owns Broadway Plaza, has spent $536,272 in support of Measure I. Macerich authored the Measure I initiative, one of the many controversial matters in this big, messy controversy.

Most of the money on both sides has been spent on lawyers, consultants, pollsters and mailings, the Times says.

Mayor Gary Skrel, who supports Measure I, says the amount spent on this battle is "staggering, especially when there are many causes in need of funding," the Times says.

No kidding. I'm sure each side will blame the other for how heated and expensive this battle has become. I just hope that Taubman and its local citizen representatives won't get in the way, via another lawsuit, with this election taking place November 3.

And I hope that each side will accept the results of the election.

I hope Taubman especially gets this message--if the results of the election don't go its way. We need to get this question of whether or not Neiman Marcus is coming to town resolved as soon as possible.

Taubman probably won't get the message. Sigh. Or Grr. The Michigan-based company has a long, nasty history of pouring lots of money into fighting rival retail developments.

Colin Powell said to be “amused” by Walnut Creek’s Neiman Marcus controversy

General Colin Powell, the former U.S. Secretary of State, was in town Wednesday night, speaking to a packed house on the Lesher Center about his journey from soldier to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the world’s top diplomat during the presidency of George W. Bush.

According to the Contra Costa Times Lisa Vorderbrueggen, Powell met with reporters before his speech. He was the latest luminary to come to Walnut Creek as part of the Lesher Newsmaker Speakers Series.

During that chat with reporters, he didn’t reveal any detailed advice he would give to President Obama on how to handle the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But he did speak broadly about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, commented on the state of racism in America, and called the current “uncivil discourse” on health care “unhelpful.”

A backstage view of Powell, his good humor, his keen intelligence, and his views on a variety of matters come from Steve Lesher, the producer of the Lesher Newsmakers Speakers series. Yes, Steve Lesher is the grandson of the late Contra Costa Times publisher Dean Lesher. He produces the series and writes a smart, lively blog, containing updates and behind-the-scenes chronicles on past and future speakers.

Lesher was at a special pre-speech dinner with Powell, then rode with him from the restaurant to the Lesher Center. It was during that ride, according to Lesher, that Powell saw some humor in our community’s brouhaha over whether to allow a new upscale department store to be built in town. As Lesher writes:

"I talked to him a little about Walnut Creek, and the kind of community we are. He was amused by the Nieman Marcus issue, and also amused by the fact that he was playing opposite the Elvis show at the center."

Lesher is referring to All Shook Up, the Elvis Presley-inspired musical now playing at the arts center name for his grandfather.

You can read more of Steve Lesher’s Behind-the-Scenes notes on the Powell speech here, including the fact that Powell doesn’t watch cable TV, but reads six newspapers a day, and can talk with equal deftness about America’s recent political history and, apparently, Mackenzie Phillip’s daughter-father incest revelations on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Are Walnut Creek's Neiman Marcus foes like Wile E. Coyote?

Contra Costa Times' Tom Barnidge makes an amusing, but probably accurate, comparison in his column today between the “irrespressible” Wile E. Coyote of Road Runner cartoon fame to those Walnut Creek residents who, with the help of a deep-pockets developer, are trying to derail the proposed Neiman Marcus in Broadway Plaza.

Those Walnut Creek residents would be a group with the Acme Corp.-esque title, RAMPART (Residents and Advocates for More Parking and Reduced Traffic). RAMPART’s leaders are Selma King and Ann Hinshaw, but they are receiving financial backing from Taubman Company, the owner of Sunvalley Mall and a developer involved in San Ramon’s effort to build its long-awaited city center.

This is what Barnidge says about Mr. Coyote--and about the RAMPART folks:

When a missile launcher failed to propel him to his target, he hopped onto a rocket sled. When a stick of dynamite couldn't stop his prey, he reached for a hand grenade. When the boulder he dropped didn't flatten the bird, he tried again with an anvil.

Sure, he was a failure, but you need to look past that. He was a study in relentless tenacity.

The only force we've ever seen rival his gritted-teeth perseverance is the group trying to derail the Neiman Marcus project, even as the Walnut Creek City Council beep-beeps its way toward welcoming a new store to Broadway Plaza.

Check out the rest of Barnidge's column here.