When the owners of University Mall decided to sue Radiological Associates of Sacramento in an attempt to force them to vacate their spot at the University Mall in order to pave the way for Trader Joe's to arrive, we figured that was a politically bad move. Clearly it changed some of public opinion on Trader Joe's arrival to Davis itself.
As it turns out, it was also bad law. The Davis Enterprise reports this morning that Yolo County Superior Court Judge Tim Fall granted a motion to strike a complaint that he had previous amended because it too was faulty. The motion to strike throws out the lawsuit.
According to the attorney representing RAS, Steve Boutin, the landlords had preferred to file a lawsuit to negotiating some sort of agreement between the two sides.
The problems with that location go beyond the fact that the space they want to move into is occupied by another business.
I see three primary problems with that location. First traffic. The area from Sycamore to Anderson along Russell as well as on those two side streets are among the most congested in the city of Davis. So the city wants to put in a store that will greatly add to the traffic? That makes little sense.
Second, parking is already bad at university mall. Now you are going to add another store that will bring in a ton of traffic that needs to park. Moreover, any overlap between Trader Joe's and the Graduate events could make parking a huge nightmare.
Finally, and this is an ongoing problem, anyone who parks at University Mall during the winter season is a target for the Crow shooting gallery. I remember parking the car for five minutes last year to get a coffee for my wife, and coming out of the coffee shop the car was literally covered in droppings.
Add to that, the problem that we have basically two shopping centers literally dying for an anchor and the location that is already taken makes zero sense whatsoever.
The argument that Trader Joe's wants to be close to the center of town and by a highway makes little sense either. People in Davis will come to a Trader Joe's, period. We could put it out in the fields of the Northwest Quadrant, two miles outside of town and they would come in droves. In San Luis Obispo, Trader Joe's is located on the outskirts of town, not in the town's center. Doesn't stop people from going there. If Trader Joe's does not stop this insanity they will never come and people will get tired of it. They already are.
This is my favorite part of the article from the Enterprise:
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
As it turns out, it was also bad law. The Davis Enterprise reports this morning that Yolo County Superior Court Judge Tim Fall granted a motion to strike a complaint that he had previous amended because it too was faulty. The motion to strike throws out the lawsuit.
According to the attorney representing RAS, Steve Boutin, the landlords had preferred to file a lawsuit to negotiating some sort of agreement between the two sides.
"Their lawsuit was faulty and premature... What they had to do was say 'Here are the conditions under which we can relocate and how we can do it.' What they did was create a very mushy situation which we didn't even have an opportunity to respond to... Their attitude has been 'Hey, see you in court,' rather than talking.... Where it goes from here is up to Centro Watt [the property managers]. Our sense is that they're anxious to get Trader Joe's in there, but my clients intend to continue to provide radiological services."All the more reason it was ridiculous for Trader Joe's to announce that they were coming to Davis in 2008. It's a shame and frankly I have lost most of my interest in them coming here because of all this. No they did not sue RAS, but they might as well have. They insisted that the only place that they would locate was University Mall.
The problems with that location go beyond the fact that the space they want to move into is occupied by another business.
I see three primary problems with that location. First traffic. The area from Sycamore to Anderson along Russell as well as on those two side streets are among the most congested in the city of Davis. So the city wants to put in a store that will greatly add to the traffic? That makes little sense.
Second, parking is already bad at university mall. Now you are going to add another store that will bring in a ton of traffic that needs to park. Moreover, any overlap between Trader Joe's and the Graduate events could make parking a huge nightmare.
Finally, and this is an ongoing problem, anyone who parks at University Mall during the winter season is a target for the Crow shooting gallery. I remember parking the car for five minutes last year to get a coffee for my wife, and coming out of the coffee shop the car was literally covered in droppings.
Add to that, the problem that we have basically two shopping centers literally dying for an anchor and the location that is already taken makes zero sense whatsoever.
The argument that Trader Joe's wants to be close to the center of town and by a highway makes little sense either. People in Davis will come to a Trader Joe's, period. We could put it out in the fields of the Northwest Quadrant, two miles outside of town and they would come in droves. In San Luis Obispo, Trader Joe's is located on the outskirts of town, not in the town's center. Doesn't stop people from going there. If Trader Joe's does not stop this insanity they will never come and people will get tired of it. They already are.
This is my favorite part of the article from the Enterprise:
"At City Council meetings and in letters to the editor, Davis residents have questioned why Trader Joe's doesn't open its store in one of Davis' vacant grocery store sites, one in Westlake Plaza on Lake Boulevard in West Davis and the other in the Davis Manor Shopping Center on East Eighth Street."They will not say it, but every story we have written in the Vanguard, on the issue has raised the question over and over again. But it is funny that the townfolk seem to know so much more than the business owners themselves. Perhaps representatives from Trader Joe's ought to listen to their potential customers and ditch the corporate charts.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
