During the past few weeks, the City Council has heard countless hours of passionate and sometimes angry testimony from Rancho opponents about traffic nightmares and the risks to school children and horses should the proposed project be allowed to go forward. The developer, Tom Davies, tried to allay those fears by scaling-back the size of the project from the original 60,000 square feet to around 52,000 square feet. Nevertheless, Rancho opponents continued to hammer the project as too big to fit into the neighborhood. The developer insisted the Whole Foods store could not be smaller and still be profitable. Heeding the concerns of the Rancho opposition, the council members voted 3-to-2 to deny the project on February 20 --- which was tantamount to a boxer being knocked to the canvas. The Rancho opposition went off to celebrate victory, however, that proved to be premature.

In a dramatic turnaround, Davies shrunk the size of the proposed healthy food market further to 40,000 square feet. Word of the last-ditch effort by the developer began surfacing in media reports on March 9. After a search for a new site apparently failed, the developer reportedly sent the Burbank City Council a letter on March 6 requesting it consider plans for a smaller market at 901 West Alameda Avenue. Meanwhile, council members were set to vote on a resolution finalizing the denial of the project at a March 13 meeting or the council could choose to consider plans for a smaller version of the project. It was not over yet. To say the Rancho opposition felt blindsided by this is to put it mildly.

You could feel the tension in the council chamber at the March 13 city council meeting. Fewer in numbers than at past meetings, the Rancho opponents were no less determined to carry on the fight. They had to sit through several agenda items before the Whole Foods matter could be discussed. When they got the chance to speak, the opponents slammed the suggestion of a smaller market , or any market , at that site and urged the council to "complete the process", "stand by your decision," and "put an end to it." The fact that Davies and his team were no shows at the city council meeting added to the suspicion for some that a back room deal was in the works. Then it was revealed the developer had sent an e-mail to the city council earlier in the day requesting a one-week postponement in order to present plans for a smaller market. After some haggling, the council voted 3-to-1 to continue the matter until the following Tuesday when all members would be present. At the time, Mayor Todd Campbell was out of town on business.

On March 20, members of the Rancho opposition began staking out choice seats in the council chamber at least a half hour before the meeting started at 6:30 p.m. At the door, Burbank Community Assistance Coordinator Bob Kramer handed me a copy of a letter from the developer along with the council agenda. In the letter, Davies and his advisor, former Burbank councilman Michael Hastings, threw in the white towel and gave up the fight. Davies told the council, "...we have not been able to create a scenario that works on the Alameda & Main parcel or any parcel in Burbank at this point in time." Davies went on to thank his supporters for backing, "...our legally zoned, well qualified and quantified project ..." The Westlake developer had a few words for the naysayers as well, "... I am sorry that you would not support a highly sought after retailer, highly regarded employer in a well planned, extensively mitigated, pedestrian friendly project supported by a majority of the community." The letter was distributed to all who came to the meeting.

Obviously, the developer was unwilling to face the opponents, the council, and other Burbank residents by delivering his decision in person. I found that disappointing. And it did not stop the Rancho opposition from trashing the project once again. Some speakers criticized the developer for not showing up and at least one accused Davies of being a "bully" and "greedy developer." Other opponents, a few choked back tears, gave heart-tugging accounts of struggling to buy homes and raising families in the Rancho and the joy of riding on horseback along the Griffith Park trails.

Opposition leader Roman Gora claimed "60 people" from the group had turned out to ask the council to "follow through" on its original vote and pass a resolution finalizing the denial of the project. Also, Gora joined others in urging the council members to reject a request by Davies to deny the project without prejudice, which would allow the developer to skip the lengthy application process and return with another project in less than a year.

The crucial vote came after midnight, when all the speeches and debate were done. The council voted 4-to-1 to approve the resolution to deny the project without any special stipulation. The lone dissenting vote came from councilman Jef Vander Borght who politely but adamantly rejected the doomsday predictions the opposition linked to the proposed Whole Foods market. Vander Borght, a Rancho area resident, said he could tell the opponents "believed passionately" in their opinions, but he saw the project differently.

Leaving the door open, Mayor Campbell instructed city staffers to contact Whole Foods officials directly to see if there is interest in scouting for a new market location in Burbank. Like many who live or work in the this city, I hope Whole Foods finds another, much better, site in a neighborhood that will view the market as a benefit to the entire community. Yes, I definitely would love to see Whole Foods go the distance and win next time.