Guest Column
Protect Historic Los Rios Neighborhood from 60,000 sf Mall By Michael Laux
There is a proposal in front of the City Council to permanently change the fabric of the Los Rios Historic District. A developer is trying to build a mall with 60,000 sq ft of retail, office, restaurant, and drinking establishments on the nursery property located between Los Rios St and Paseo Adelanto. It will also include 300 parking spaces, with the accompanying traffic congestion, noise, and pollution. It will put dumpsters, delivery trucks, AC and refrigeration compressors, grease ducts, and swamp coolers in the backyards of a substantial number of the homes. It will exacerbate the Del Obispo traffic gridlock that we already experience on a daily basis. This is a project that does not belong in the oldest residential neighborhood in California.
passive in nature such as picnicking, arts and crafts workshops, cultural performances, etc.”
There is not one part of this project that complies with the result of years of hard work by the residents of SJC who crafted the Specific Plan. When this proposal was presented to the City Council, the Staff Report recommended a study to amend the Specific Plan. Instead, they should have been telling the developer to design something that fits the neighbor- Proposed mall in the historic Los Rios neighborhood located on the Nursery property would add 60,000 sf of retail, buildings up to 45’ high and 300 parking spaces. Del Obispo hood and the current This is the only property in town is at lower left of photo; train tracks and Los Rios street are at bottom right of photo and zoning. The staff zoned Low Density Commercial, creek channel is at upper left. seems to think the which states: “Purpose and intent: developer should be able to rewrite This neighborhood is sacred, and it Michael Laux lives with his wife To provide for low intensity comneeds to be treated as such. The tree Holly on Los Rios Street. He is a mercial uses that reinforce the rural the rules. lined streets, the historic homes, this builder in Laguna Beach, and proud character of the Los Rios area and When the council members were oasis in a sea of development needs to be a Rotarian. will not alter the existing topograto be honored, not sold out. phy. Such uses will require minimal, elected there was a slate of Derek Reeve, Kerry Ferguson and permanent Pam Patterson who all ran structures, low "It is zoned for a on a slow growth/no growth lighting inStory continued from page 6... nursery, not a High https://www.faa.gov/about/office_ platform. Pam Patterson is tensities, and Density retail mall… org/field_offices/fsdo/lgb/contact/. The good news is that Council the only one of those three will generate This project should Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, whose job minimum traffic have been stopped at who has remained true to their member Pam Patterson placed an item on the April 18 council agenda is to protect residents in her district, campaign. Recently elected, and parking the Building Depart- Sergio Farias is another one can be reached at: Lisa.Bartlett@ urging the city to file a complaint demand. Princiment counter when it with the FAA about the flawed EIR. ocgov.info . that has flipped on his posipal uses permitwas first brought in We don’t know how or if the FAA tions, as he was totally opted: Retail sales for review, as it vioDonna Fleming worked as a techwill respond, so in the meantime, posed to this project before and storage of nical writer before moving to San lates and disrespects let’s urge the FAA to go back to the he was elected, and now he’s plants, trees, the Los Rios Specific for it. He also abandoned his drawing board and conduct a proper Juan Capistrano in 1999 with her shrubs and study including ALL known impacts three children, who graduated from constituents on opposing the Plan in every way." other nursery San Juan Capistrano. Donna pubto both wildlife and people. UnSDG&E sub station, which items; farmers’ lished her first novel in 2013, “Hard like Ms. Frisch, Mr. Dinwiddie did market items such as fruits and veg- he now accepts. If this mall project Times in Red Grape”, which was provide an avenue for complaints. gets Council approval, there will be etables sold from temporary open selected by a college history profesHe recommended that complaints a referendum and that decision will air stands; arts and crafts display sor as a class assignment in protest be directed to the local FAA’s Long likely be overturned. Currently the and sales; outdoor ceramics. Nonliterature. Donna, a longtime comBeach Flight Standards District Ofretail uses such as greenhouse, crop only two that oppose this project are munity advocate, is currently workand tree farming, wholesale nursery. Brian Maryott and Pam Patterson, and fice via phone at: (562) 420-1755, or via email through their website at: ing on her second novel. we thank them for their support. Park and recreational uses that are
Community Common Sense
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