HomeMy WebLinkAboutOFFENHARTZ, DOUG 072120
June 26, 2020
Ms. Marie Sunderi
Town Clerk, Town of Danville
510 La Gonda Way
Danville, CA 94526
RE: For the Good of the Town
Dear Mayor Stepper and Members of the Town Council:
As a member of the Town Council in 1982, as a downtown property owner since 1983, and as a
member of the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Downtown Task Force after my two
terms on the Town Council, I have been among Danville’s strongest advocates for a retail
walking street atmosphere in the Old Town area. That almost forty-year old vision is at risk due
to many factors with which you are all too familiar.
We could debate the failures of the landlords, shop owners, and the Town, but the real villain is
the changing shopping habits of Americans. I hate to admit that Amazon and its like have made
online shopping less expensive and more convenient than shopping at brick and mortar stores,
albeit less personal. The stay-at-home orders mandated by the Covid-19 pandemic have only
hastened that change. Business confidence among shop owners has plummeted. I have heard
several good ideas that would enhance the atmosphere of Old Town Danville, but I doubt they
would significantly impact the economic forces changing our world.
I sincerely believe Old Town Danville’s retail atmosphere is no longer viable on the scale I
previously hoped. While I recognize and appreciate the flexibility the Town Council has recently
approved, only a few retail stores will likely survive; most will not. I encourage you to keep an
open mind as we look at Old Town Danville after the Christmas holidays. How many retail
stores will remain in business? What changes may be required to avoid one vacant storefront
after another from populating our quaint Hartz Avenue? If the landscape is as dire as I predict,
the zoning ordinance will need to be broadened again to allow service commercial and office
uses in zones previously restricted to restaurants and retail.
Very truly yours,
Doug Offenhartz
cc: Jill Bergman
cc: Joe Calabrigo