The developer who hoped to build a large-scale shopping complex at the south end of Oak Harbor pulled his application Monday.

Paul Pazooki, owner of Bremerton-based Global Investments, said he has given up on his controversial request for a comprehensive plan amendment that would allow him to develop a 33-acre parcel on Highway 20 at Waterloo Road. But he said he may reapply in the future.

“Obviously, a lot more study needs to be done to convince the city that there needs to be more commercial land available,” he said. “The city has been listening to a few who come to hearings and testify and ignoring the needs of the people.”

Pazooki predicted that studies will prove that there’s a monumental need in the city for more large-scale commercial centers and that the city loses substantial amounts of retail money off the island.

Yet Pazooki’s decision will likely make a lot of people happy. Councilman Paul Brewer has been the most outspoken among elected officials in his opposition to the proposal. He said he was concerned about urban sprawl, traffic congestion and that the proposal didn’t jibe with the comprehensive plan.

“I felt it was not wanted by the citizens nor the planning commission,” he said.

Pazooki said he was concerned that the City Council wouldn’t approve his application at their meeting next Tuesday. The planning commission recommended against it following large public meetings at which dozens of people spoke in opposition.

Pazooki requested an amendment to the comprehensive plan to bring land outside the city into the city’s urban growth area, which is a ring of land around the city slated for annexation.

Pazooki said there simply isn’t any land within the city big enough for a large commercial development. He predicts that recommendations by the planning commission to create more commercial space will do nothing to solve the problem. The City Council will discuss the recommendations Tuesday.

Pazooki said city leaders need to decide whether they are serious about their commitment to improving the economic health of the city.

“When someone wants to invest $30, $40, $50 million in the city,” he said, “there ought to be a little more accommodation by the city besides getting beat up all the time.”

Last year, a different developer wanted to build a similar shopping center at the north end of the city. But city officials put the kibosh on that because of concerns about encroachment on the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

While Pazooki didn’t like his chances with the City Council, it’s not clear that the members would have rejected his proposal. At least three of the seven council members spoke favorably about it at a council meeting, while only Brewer was vocal in opposition.

Councilman Larry Eaton was the most upfront about his support of Pazooki’s proposal. Tuesday, he pointed out that the city has a major budget problem and that a large commercial development would have brought in a lot of money.

“People are going to continue to drive off the island,” he said, “and continue spending retail dollars off the island.”

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.