Council backs negotiating fee-waiver to unlock grocery site and shared infrastructure

Winters City Council directed staff March 17 to pursue negotiations for an upfront city-fee waiver to enable a proposed grocery-and-quick-serve project on a four-acre parcel at Highway 128 and East Main.

City Manager Jeremy Craig explained the site shares infrastructure needs with adjacent business-park parcels and that the first developer currently carries the full cost of an access road and culvert/bridge. Staff estimated the city portion of waived fees at roughly $600,000; their recommendation would have the developer construct East Baker Extension and the city recoup reimbursable fees over time from increased sales and property tax revenue. Staff said a pro forma indicates a payback period in the 4–6 year range under conservative assumptions.

Developer Damon (on Zoom) described plans for a roughly 31,000-square-foot grocery store and small frontage retail, and stressed the role of the access road and bridge in unlocking 18 adjacent acres of business-park land for future development. Council members raised questions about how the access road would be constructed, whether the city could legally limit the waiver to city fees (not school-district or other agency fees), and what legal agreements would be required.

Council generally supported moving forward with negotiations, directing staff to work with the city attorney to draft necessary agreements protecting the city's financial interest and to return with options; no formal fee-waiver ordinance or final agreement was adopted at the meeting.