Citing an outpouring of public interest in the project and unanswered questions, the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission voted last week to delay a decision on whether to approve a proposed Gelson’s Market along Sepulveda Boulevard.
Staff had recommended conditionally approving a master use permit for the lot running along Sepulveda between 6th and 8th streets, as well as a parking variance for the project. But public comment on the project evinced deep division, convincing commissioners to extend the public hearing until March 22.
Jim Dillavou, a Manhattan Beach resident and principal at Paragon Commercial Group, the El Segundo-based developer behind the project, said that the critiques raised in public comment had been answered in the Response to Comments done as part of environmental review process. He said he understands that this is one of several lengthy documents associated with the project, and the developer will try to bring this information to the public.
But despite assurances from the developer, commissioners appeared to conclude with more questions than when they began.
“That just raises more questions than it answers,” said Commissioner Steve Ortmann of Dillavou’s statement on the comments response.
At least some of the uncertainty stemmed from the fact that last Wednesday’s meeting was the first public hearing on the project. Dillavou estimated he has had hundreds of meetings with residents in the roughly two years since the project has been announced; some of these have been attended by elected officials and city staff. But the Planning Commission meeting marked the first chance for commissioners to engage and openly debate the project. And the extent of public comment — a standing-room only crowd stretched into City Hall’s lobby and temporarily delayed the meeting due to fire code concerns — meant that no real discussion took place.
Commission Chair Nancy Hersman, a candidate for City Council in the upcoming March election, has previously criticized city staff for not bringing the project to the commission earlier.
“We understand that there is a lot of frustration in the community that this has not come before the Planning Commission before tonight. We understand that because we too are frustrated with that,” Hersman said Wednesday.
Laurie Jester, planning manager with the city, said that items come to the Planning Commission as soon as the application is deemed complete.
But the delay in presentation was related to a broader criticism: that under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the project should have been covered by an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), rather than a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) as was the case. Apart from requiring consideration alternatives to the project, the analysis done under an EIR does not necessarily differ from that under an MND. But per state law, the EIR process requires planning agencies to hold public scoping meetings in advance of preparing the report.
State law does not provide that a project must be subject to an EIR once it reaches a certain size. Rather, an EIR is required when there is substantial evidence that “significant environmental effects” will occur.
Jack Driscoll lives near the proposed Gelson’s and opposes the project. He was formerly the executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, where he oversaw the planning of the expansion of Los Angeles International Airport. Driscoll said that while intense opposition to a project does not automatically merit an EIR, it is usually a warning that significant effects are likely to occur.
“People can argue it’s not a very big impact. But to the immediate community surrounding it it’s got huge impacts. This really demands an EIR,” Driscoll said in an interview.
According to the MND for the project, the city found potentially significant effects in five categories, but that all of them were capable of mitigation, and thus that an EIR was not required.
The site of the proposed Gelson’s was previously home to a car dealership and automotive repair outlet. The land, as well as an accompanying parcel on the north side of 8th Street, was acquired by Paragon in November 2014, and has been vacant since the dealership and repair shop closed the following year.
The developer has proposed a 27,900-square-foot market in place of the old dealership at the rear of the lot with a 503-square-foot patio, and a 6,684-square-foot building at the south end of the lot, tentatively slated for a bank. Most of the proposal complies with city code, but the commission would need to grant a variance over the number of parking spaces.
Submitted plans call for 135 parking spaces for both customers and employees. Based on the project’s size and classification, the municipal code would typically require at least 171. But commissioners may grant a variance to permit projects with fewer spaces than required if the applicant can demonstrate through data that parking demand would be less than the code requires.
The developer submitted a 186-page traffic and parking study last year indicating that 135 spaces would be adequate. But the disparity with the required number of spaces, and concerns about pushing parked cars into surrounding residential areas, prompted hesitation from commissioners.
“It’s a big ask for us to make a finding that we can grant a variance on,” said Commissioner Chris Conaway, who is also running for City Council.
The traffic study indicated the new development is expected to produce 3,062 daily weekday trips. Relying Los Angeles County traffic mitigation guidelines, the study concluded that gridlock would increase no more than 1.1 percent, and at most measured areas would go up less. Many nearby residents wondered how this added volume could not constitute a “significant effect,” and cast doubt on the study’s methodology.
Proponents of the project, including key figures in the city’s business community, said that Gelson’s opponents were improperly comparing the project to a vacant lot, rather than the businesses that were there before.
“My gut tells me that, if the dealership were still up and running, people would be clamoring for a Gelson’s,” said Strand House co-owner Bill Bloomfield.
