Navlet’s unlikely to return to Fremont
By Matt Artz
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 3:19 pm in Uncategorized.
Spoke to Navlet’s CEO Pat Gray on Tuesday. It looks like my story last week may have come off a little too optimistic about the store finding a new Fremont location.
She said they haven’t found a good location, and that even if they did developing it would take a very long long time.
“We have no intention right now of staying in Fremont,” were her exact words. The store is scheduled to close on or about June 15.
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
May 15th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I am so sad to see Navlet’s closing. It’s been my favorite place to shop in Fremont. Goodbye to one small green oasis in the growing desert of big malls and big box stores.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:17 am
That’s unfortunate. Will they be distributing all their stuff amongst their other stores, or will there be a going out of business sale?
May 15th, 2008 at 10:48 am
It is another botch in the Fremont City Councils body of work!
They must be vary proud. I wonder how much the developer has contributed to there campaign funds
WE NEED A CHANGE
May 15th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Hey Queenbee, I called Navlet’s. They’re having a Memorial Day weekend sale, but no going out of business sale.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
“It is another botch in the Fremont City Councils body of work! They must be vary proud. I wonder how much the developer has contributed to there campaign funds”
Coyote Bill… please explain why you feel the council “botched” this ????? I think it will be tough to explain as I don’t believe they had anything to do with Navlets decision or that of the landowner. Those on the council can defend themselves…but I question statements such as the one you made by asking for the facts that support your claim. Please explain…
Thanks
May 15th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Dirk,
Every one has a rule or a ordinance to hide behind. The philosphy of developing every square inch of Fremont has people feeling they have completly lost control, everyone says it is not the fault it was zoned that way or some other ordinance to hide behind.
I am looking for some one on the city council to say enough is enough lets quit shifting the blame and actually fix problems instead of creating them.
I guess I am looking for someone strong enough to raise above the burecratic bullsh*t and say stop the insanity
May 15th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Coyote Bill,
every … completely … everyone … stop the insanity …
I guess I’m looking for reasoned dialogue! Seems you assume everybody on city council is dumber than you are. Is that reasonable?
As I drive around Fremont, I see lots of undeveloped areas. And why not develop all the non-green space? That way we can preserve the bogs and the hills, etc. by increasing density where so zoned.
You know what I’m looking for? People willingly and gladly paying their taxes on all their earnings instead of fussing about loss of services. (And my real dream would be to get rid of Prop 13!!)
May 15th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Coyote Bill,
I would love for you to be “Planning Commissioner” for a day… (actually, it would have to be for a week…as we get our packet of information…ie.. staff reports, applicants statements, letters submitted by the public) on the Friday prior to the Thursday meeting. In all sincerity.. I would be happy to meet with you and go over the material to let you
“walk in my shoes”. If it is something you are interested in doing, let me check it out with the city attorney… as the information is in the public domain. I think I am a very creative person (therefore the “florist” day job) with a high degree of common sense. There are plenty on the commission that I believe to be smarter… but it takes a village…as Hillary says! We all bring something to the dias. That’s the beauty of the commission. It is a diverse group…who unlike the earlier characterization… are not in the pockets on anyone. When I last ran for coucil…I had the tag line…. a “fresh perspective”. I do have some different ideas… yet some have been altered over these past 3.5 years of service by the rules, ordinances and regulation (not to be forgotten…the law) that we ARE bound to. We do not hide behind them… as if we step “out of bounds” we have the city attorney present to keep us within the law governing public meetings. I would love to meet with you and let you see the forms we fill out (form 700, economic interest) and the class we have to take on ethics. Ours is a city that staunchly uphold the law… and I have come to appreciate that very much. There is just no wiggle room when it comes to disclosures, violations of the Brown Act, ect. I, like my perception of your view, was once very cynical about politics in Fremont. I have throtled that cynicism back by the knowledge I have gained through serving. Some may say I have conformed. Well…like in business…you gotta learn the system, gain the knowledge, earn the respect, then ascend to a position of leadership to make changes. Perfect by no means… but were still here…it works. Please apply your passion to assisting in the General Plan update process going on in Fremont… this is an area where you are welcomed to participate and have a voice in some of the change you want to see. Also…there is a great opportunity to participate with a visioning workshop, focused on three areas here in Fremont… citizens are encouraged to attend. (I think they will even feed us!) I saw this announcement on the blogroll… I would love to see you involved.
This said…let me know about working with me on a commission meeting… if you are interested…I would love to meet. I would suggest the Depot Diner at the Historic Centerville Train station. (The gig is up…that’s my business also! I do great coffee!) It’s on me!
May 15th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Hello Queen Bee,
Everyone knows development is the way to go. But the question is, do you need smart and balanced growth or run-away development, the way it is right now. If the City Council and Planning Commissioners are so knowledgable in giving so many high-density housing permits by rezoning the land for residential wherever it is possible, how come the City runs out of money always and they have to keep coming back to voters with Utility tax proposals. Guess what, all the money collected via developer fees is going for the employee salaries and benefits and the property tax to Sacramento and we are getting very less in return. BTW, City of Fremont has one of the highest paid salaried employees in Bay Area. No longer, Fremont will afford to be only a big bedroom community and hope for additional dollars from Sacramento. Still, Fremont is classified as a rural area with a population of 210,000. If our City leaders are so forward thinking, they should have lobbied a long time ago to classify Fremont as urban city.It is time for new vision and thinking and to do away with the status quo i.e No more incumbents or people from the Planning Commission.
One more request for you. Don’t raise the bogey of racism just because somebody is against an Asian Themed Shopping Center instead of Navlets. All people are saying is, why one more Asian Themed Shopping center so close to one that is already nearby. Do you expect people from Warm Springs to go all the way to Regans in Ardenwood for plants. We need more choice nearby. That is what a planned City is.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:42 am
Matt, if you go back and read the other posts, especially the one by the Navlet’s employee, I think you’ll see the racism; for the other posters, perhaps it more discomfort than out and out racism. If the business owner thinks the area can support another Asian-themed mall, what do we know? It’s a bit like saying a mall doesn’t make any sense when it has a Mervyns, Macys, Penneys & a Sears. Someone would rightly say that variety is the spice of life. Same could be said of Asian-themed stores.
Also, a planned city has no control over what goes in the Navlet space. As someone else has pointed out, it’s zoned for business, so the property owner can do what he pleases. The owner wants more money, plain and simple (me too!). Hopefully Fremont will benefit from having more tax revenue as well.
May 18th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Navlets Nursery will be missed. The staff is very educated in horticultural expertise, they also offered gardening classes. Fremont Navlets was noted for offering hard to find and rare stock to it’s customers. Most of the nurserys left are big box nurserys like at Lowes, Home Depot and Walmart type of stores where the selection and help lack what Navlets offered. Fremont’s great nursery history is coming to an end. Remember Edenvale Nursery, Tree Top, California Nursery Company, A to Z Nursery and Naka’s first Nursery in Mission San Jose? Much of the floral beauty around town came from these old nurserys.