McDonald’s withdraws from Newman site as railroad, Caltrans delays stall intersection work; city readies impact-fee program

City Manager Michael told the Newman City Council that McDonald’s has decided to withdraw from a proposed site after the railroad component of required intersection improvements would take 18 to 24 months to complete. "They were required to do some improvements to the intersection to make sure trucks can move better and cars were gonna be able to get in and out of their site cleanly. Unfortunately, the railroad, was a part of those improvements and it's going to take them 18 to 24 months for the railroad to do their part. So they've decided to pull out," Michael said. He also said Caltrans work would also take a long time.

Michael said the city will continue to work with the railroad so the intersection work can be completed for future development or if McDonald’s chooses to reconsider the project in 12–18 months. He also reported the city is developing a capital facility fee program (impact fee program) to offset costs of new development; "that'll be coming probably to you, probably this summer. And we're reviewing the administrative draft right now," Michael said.

Council did not take formal action on the McDonald’s withdrawal or on the impact fee program at the meeting. The city’s description on the record indicates the withdrawal was a developer decision tied to requirements outside the city’s immediate control; staff emphasized ongoing coordination with the railroad and Caltrans and said preparing impact-fee administrative materials would put the city in position to collect fees if and when new projects move forward.