From: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2026 3:38 PM
To: City Council <[email protected]>; John Jay <[email protected]>
Subject: please do not bring Grocery Outlet to the Rite Aid site
Dear Members of the Planning Commission and the City Council,
I write to ask that you not approve the proposal to locate a Grocery Outlet at the former Rite Aid site. Our town already has seven grocery stores, distributed from the southeast to the northwest side of Sebastopol. Three of the existing groceries are in very close proximity to the Rite Aid location. Bringing in another grocery store would only add competition and undermine the business of the seven existing stores. The existing stores, moreover, oƯer considerable range in pricing and variation in what they stock.
Grocery Outlet is a national chain with stores already located in Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park (and, a bit farther away, in Windsor). Sebastopol residents can easily go to those outlets if they wish. Sebastopol’s approved General Plan, designed to protect the unique character and charm of this town, favors support of local businesses. Bringing in that national chain to this location in the center of town would only make Sebastopol more like every mall- and chain-store- dominated city, undermining local businesses along with Sebastopol’s tourist appeal. Please adhere to the General Plan and do not allow this to happen.
Sincerely,
Lynn Keller