Although Lowe’s is unlikely to change its decision to abandon its Rocklin plans, the developer is still hopeful that a tenant can be found.

The development, planned for the corner of Granite Drive and Sierra College Boulevard, is on the Loomis border.

Appearing before the Rocklin City Council last Tuesday to appeal some of the Rocklin Planning Commission’s recommendations, Paul Petrovich of Petrovich Development said that although the concessions granted were “a fair resolution” to his concerns, Lowe’s would not reverse its decision.

“I’m talking to two other possible tenants,” he said, adding that he would not start the project until a tenant could be found.

Petrovich approached the City Council to appeal what he called the Planning Commission’s “death by 1,000 cuts.”

“I’m trying to make the project economically feasible,” he said, adding that certain embellishments the Planning Commission wants are too expensive for a project of this kind.

There were 10 separate items the developer wanted to address, telling the Council that “we agree on 85 percent of the project.”

Although the council did not grant all of Petrovich’s appeals, they did grant several including the type of lighting fixtures to be used in the parking lot and the styling of the back wall.

With the modifications made, Petrovich estimated that the cost of the project could be reduced by more than $500,000.

Council member Peter Hill commended the Planning Commission for the number of hours spent on this and other projects, explaining that although the Council over-ruled some of the Commission’s decisions, a city council must look at the project not only in terms of aesthetics, but also in terms of economic feasibility.

Petrovich, however, was not the only appellant heard by the council.

Attorney for the town of Loomis, Don Mooney, appealed the project based on it impacts to the town of Loomis.

Listing several impacts ranging from inadequate traffic mitigation to environmental impacts including the emission of greenhouse gases, Mooney said the town of Loomis does not object to Rocklin’s right to develop its land, but rather, “The real concern is on the impacts to the town of Loomis being adequately mitigated.”

Although Petrovich views a lawsuit from Loomis as a contributing factor to Lowe’s decision not to locate in Rocklin, he said with the concessions granted to him, he is “prepared to stand shoulder to should with the city to defend” the right to develop the land.