Approval for Goodwill Store on San Pablo Avenue Near El Cerrito-Albany Border

An application by sailed through on Tuesday night. 

Several neighbors expressed concerns about possible dumping and traffic congestion, and Albany officials said they would take another look at the site six months after its doors open to see if adjustments need to be made to address any problems.

Goodwill did not need special approval to open its retail operation in the former store, but its Donation Reception Center required a special permit from the commission. 

In a short presentation before the commission, Kimberly Scrafano, Goodwill's vice president of  development and community affairs, said she hoped to "dispel misconceptions" about Goodwill. 

"We're more than a retailer," she said, adding that the agency provides job training and other services that are supported by its donations and retail business. "For every dollar we spend, 93 cents goes right back into the community."

She said many people make the mistake of thinking that Goodwill's clients are its customers when, in fact, college students, young families and middle-class women are its main shoppers. 

Its clientele wants to "find that bargain or that vintage pair of jeans, and sees Goodwill as a way to save the earth," she said. "Goodwill today is not your grandmother's Goodwill."

Scrafano said the store offers a way to live a sustainable lifestyle.

"Thrift is now the hip way to reuse," she told commissioners.

Goodwill is the second largest recycler in the area, she said, adding that "without Goodwill, would be much higher."

Patricia Salmon, Goodwill's senior vice president of retail operations, likened Goodwill's donation services to DVD returns or drycleaning drop-offs. 

Donors will take their goods to an indoor counter along the north side of the lot. A truck will visit the lot once a day to pick up and drop off donated goods; donations will be sorted at the agency's Oakland location.

She said there are 13 East Bay locations that use a similar set-up. 

"We find that nuisance donation drop-off is next to nothing" at these locations, said Salmon. "People cooperate quite well."

The store will install video cameras to make sure people don't leave donations outside after business hours, and also will post any signage required by the city to remind people of the rules. 

Donations will be accepted during store hours, which are set for Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Garfield Avenue neighbor Kristin Kimball told commissioners that her street already "is the recipient of trash," from Taco Bell litter to shopping carts from El Cerrito Plaza. She said she was afraid her street could become the ideal location for dumping related to Goodwill. 

"There will be constant activity on our street," she said, noting that there are several Goodwill shops and donation centers within four miles of the 505 San Pablo Ave. location. 

Nearby neighbor Ruth Gjerde said that, while she appreciates Goodwill's mission and is a regular donor and sometime shopper, "I am very concerned about the traffic and congestion." 

The site's northern boundary, Brighton Avenue, can be busy with Albany Middle School drop-offs and patrons trying to navigate to  across the street. 

"That corner is just a nightmare," Gjerde said of Brighton and Kains avenues.

Commissioners said they heard the neighbors' concerns and that they would ask Goodwill to return before them six months after the store opens to see if dumping or other issues have cropped up. 

Commissioners Peter Maass and Stacy Eisenmann were not in attendance; Chairman Phillip Moss, Commissioner Leo Panian and Vice Chair David Arkin voted unanimously in favor of the project.

The store could open in six months, said Goodwill's Salmon. 

"We're still working through the lease with the landlord," she said, adding that there would be some construction, permits and signage to work out before the store could open.