Let the Target games begin

Should Target come to Scotts Valley?
That’s the question Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley residents keep asking themselves, and probably the question Scotts Valley City Council members will lose sleep over for the next few months as their decision looms.
With the environmental impact and the economic impact reports filed at City Hall and on the city’s Web site, all the facts related to this particular development appear to be in.
What are left are the emotions of the thing.
Is this city of nearly 12,000 people ready to enter the world of the 143,000-square-foot box store?
The environmental report concludes that the aesthetics of the store, because it would be built into a hillside, are negligible. The report shows that light will not flood too far across the road and that the folks who live in the Monte Fiore housing development will not have their skyline infringed upon too much.
And traffic, outside of long waits for residents who live near the Hilton on Altenitas Road, is not predicted to be as terrible as some naysayers first believed.
Even Target, the corporation, is far friendlier to its employees than perhaps Wal-Mart. And while the company’s expansion has slowed nationwide, the price of a Target stock share has steadily climbed as the economy has improved. If the recession of the past year and a half did not cripple the company, why should we expect a Target in Scotts Valley to go under, leaving a boarded-up hole in the hillside?
So the question still remains: Are we ready, as a community, for a store of this magnitude?
As a comparison, Kmart’s entire floor space is roughly 55,000 square feet. Costco in Santa Cruz is probably the best reference, with 144,000 square feet of floor space.
Target opponents already believe the project will be approved by the council because the city is looking to make up the tax gap that the expiration of the quarter-cent Measure C sales tax will leave.
Others believe this council’s record is to build and build some more.
However, it’s more complex than that. Each of the council members loves Scotts Valley and has a long history in Scotts Valley. They know their decision will change the landscape of the city forever.
We urge the council to take an honest look, perhaps more than one look, at where local residents want the city to go.
There has been almost unanimous support for the proposed Town Center. Target is different. We urge the council to explore why it is different, and not just from a financial standpoint, but also from an aesthetic standpoint, in terms of traffic and general vibe, and from a visitor standpoint, in terms of how we want the city to feel when folks arrive.
For residents, this is a worthwhile time to write the city with concerns about the two recently published reports or to write to a councilmember about your concerns or thoughts on the subject.
If the City Council allows this development and if Target indeed chooses to build, it will alter the course of the city for a long time.