HomeCity NewsNeighbors Share More Concerns About Proposed Development At Huntington Dr. & Bedford...

Neighbors Share More Concerns About Proposed Development At Huntington Dr. & Bedford Rd.

Presentation of Updated Plan Postponed In Anticipation of Architect Revisions

Twenty-five Bedford Road residents expressed more objections to a proposed upscale food court before the San Marino Planning Commission on Tuesday, Nov. 22. If approved by the commission, the new restaurant space would replace Women’s World Fitness Center at the southeast corner of Huntington Dr. and Bedford Rd.

The 30-minute resident statements against the proposal proceeded despite the absence of architect Steve Dahl and property owner La Cienega Company.

“We have in front of us an email that was received this afternoon from the applicant requesting that this hearing be postponed and placed on the January agenda for the Planning Commission,” said Vice Chairperson Susan Jakubowski at the start of the meeting.

“One of the reasons they requested a continuance was that they were considering making changes to the plans that were submitted last week,” said City of San Marino Associate Planner Amanda Merlo.

Any new changes would be in addition to changes made since the proposal’s first Planning Commission hearing in September.

According to a staff report about the proposal, “the applicant has revised the plans to include 10 individual tenant spaces instead of 16 spaces.”

Other modifications include a 105-square-foot addition to a proposed building in the existing courtyard area at the rear of the property.

The building would include a roof deck, which—along with new shared spaces and corridors—would amount to an 11,963-square-foot space. The existing fitness center and Fresh Gourmet restaurant which adjoins it total 9,443 square feet.

In response to neighbors’ worries about public safety and a multitude of new smells, “there is no longer a shared kitchen and the restrooms are in a more central location.”

The city also sent its traffic engineer to the site to conduct a traffic study of the corner, which Bedford Rd. resident Kathy Wolf said is “well known to have many accidents.”

“The traffic engineer found the intersection warranted further review and recommended [engineers] provide their findings and recommendations to the city’s Traffic Advisory Committee,” the staff report added.

“We’ve never had in San Marino something that’s had this many locations under one roof,” Wolf continued, noting that the proposal would be incompatible with the residential neighborhood.

“They’re going to need more trash [bins], they’re going to have a lot more trash and their trash is going to be different than it is now,” she said of the potential odors.

Spencer Yeh of Bedford Rd. also found the property out of line with the community’s vision.

“I know the kind of vision [the property owner] has for this property. I’ve been to The Grove. I’ve been to the Americana at Brand. And that just doesn’t match with my personal vision for San Marino and the kind of upbringing I had,” said Yeh, who grew up in San Marino.

“[The property] is definitely getting to be an eyesore. With that said, I’d ask the developers to think outside the box,” said John Wolf of Bedford Rd. “Is there something other than a restaurant that could be done there?” he asked, suggesting an office building.Huntington Dr. resident Brian Chang stated that he’s noticed 80 to 90 percent of the currently available 37 parking space used during weekday business hours.

Bedford Rd. resident Jocelyn Katz explained in detail the chaotic bumper-to-bumper traffic during peak traffic hours at the subject intersection.

“There is too much going on already in that particular quadrant on Bedford,” she said, calling the proposed restaurant space an “indoor swap meet.”

“To add 10 businesses in the space of what now holds two would be an insurmountable impact, negatively, on our block.”

Katz’s father, Elliot Katz, spearheaded the campaign against Thrifty Payless, a drug store owned by Rite-Aid, which 20 years ago proposed the construction of a 17,415-square-foot store at the same location.

That campaign was successful, receiving unanimous denials of the proposal from the Planning Commission and, in appeal, the San Marino City Council.

Today, however, the community will have to wait until the commission meeting on Jan. 25 for a revised proposal and a complete traffic study.

 

Other business…

Commissioners unanimously approved a one-story addition and interior remodel of a residence at 1490 Charlton Rd. The upgrades triggered the need to comply with all current code requirements.

The commission also approved a conditional use permit to maintain the home’s existing encroachment into the 30-degree structural encroachment line.

The commission also heard a status report regarding the construction of a 10,000-square-foot home, tennis court and 10-car subterranean garage at 1001 Rosalind Road.

The owners of the property have committed two violations since the commission’s last quarterly report totaling $2,000. They have paid $20,000 in penalty fees since May, 2016.

The commission and city council placed numerous restrictions on the property owners in order to expedite the completion of what has now become a nearly nine-year-long project.

Merlo noted that construction is slightly behind schedule, but that she has received assurances from the contractor that construction will be back on schedule by Jan. 31, 2017.

The commission will hear another status report at its February meeting.

“If at that point it’s not caught up, it will be an issue,” said Merlo.

The homeowners must complete the home by June 30, 2017.

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