Developer At Center Of Curtis Park Lawsuit Pulls North Sacramento Grocery Store Plan

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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A developer at the center of a lawsuit against the city of Sacramento over a grocery store project has pulled plans for a different grocery store in North Sacramento over questions how the city charges fees.

Developer Paul Petrovich owns the land where the Grocery Outlet along Del Paso Boulevard was planned. He claims the city wanted to charge $500 to do a study to see if the building had historical significance since it was more than 50 years old. He says he paid for that, but he balked at another $500 he says the city wanted to do over a more in-depth study.

City officials say it offers "calculated fees" at the beginning of all projects and those fees won't change unless the scope of the project changes.

The area around the proposed grocery store hasn't had any kind of fresh-food grocery store in more than five decades, leaving what's called a food desert.

The controversy comes as Petrovich is suing the city over another grocery store project. Petrovich says the city interfered with the process of putting in a Safeway with a gas station on his 71-acre site next to Sacramento City College.

He claims the city improperly rejected his plans based on environmental concerns after the fuel station was approved by the planning commission.

The Sacramento City Council will decide whether to spend $500,000 in legal fees to defend itself against the lawsuit.

Petrovich's lawyers plan to issue subpoenas to residents of Curtis Park who have been in contact with the city on the proposal.