Palos Verdes Peninsula News
Thursday, August 30, 2007
By Ashley Ratcliff  

Officials weigh pros and cons of downtown mixed-use project

    RHE — Now that the Rolling Hills Estates City Council called off the Peninsula Village Overlay Zone and instead elected to review each development on a case-by-case basis, officials aren’t taking the task lightly.
 
    “We are supposed to protect everyone’s interests — not just [the developer’s] … We have got to start enforcing our zoning standards … It is important that we provide uses for the people that live in PV,” said Councilman Steve Zuckerman.
   
    Keeping in mind constraints of downtown development, the City Council and Planning Commission on Tuesday met to provide feedback to Silverdes LLC, which is proposing to build a 38,406-square-foot medical office condominium and retail building at 828 Silver Spur Road in RHE — the site of the former Arco station.
Silverdes, which is derived from the meshing of “Silver Spur” and “Palos Verdes,” includes 20 medical suites and will be situated above three ground-level retail/office suites of 6,950 square feet.

        
This rendering provides a preliminary glance at Silverdes, a medical office condominium and retail building at 828 Silver Spur Road in Rolling Hills Estates. The City Council and Planning Commission on Tuesday shared their opinions about the proposed project’s parking lot, height and design.

    Silverdes LLC owner Rick Edler painted a picture of a downtown area in dire need of updated medical facilities. Currently, many residents visit doctors in other South Bay communities.
 
    “The current medical buildings that we have on Deep Valley [Drive] are either in disarray or they’re full … We’re losing doctors and we’re losing medical professionals all the time,” he said. “When their leases come up, they’re not signing long-term leases. We’re at a critical point where we need to move forward.”
 
    Councilman Frank Zerunyan agreed. “Day in, day out I get calls from doctors … [wanting] longevity on the Hill, wanting a long-term stay on the Hill … There’s opportunities not only in the [offices] that already exist, but attracting more,” he said. “We’re losing doctors. We don’t want to lose them — we want to bring them back.”
 
    Yet, with four variances on the table — to exceed the maximum permitted building height and maximum permitted lot coverage, as well as to provide fewer parking spaces and a smaller loading area than required by code — council members were reluctant to accept the project as presented.
 
    Edler, who also owns the 608 Silver Spur Road property, proposed to build four standard parking spaces per 1,000 square feet, or 154 spaces. The current code for projects zoned CG (commercial general) allocates five spaces per 1,000 square feet, or 192 spaces, which Edler said is “excessive.”
 
    However, Zuckerman said reducing the number of spaces could later prove to be a nuisance for surrounding businesses.
 
    “I find the request for variance in parking to be huge … [When patients come to see their doctor,] they’re going to go to the first floor, the second floor and then they’re going to go all the way up to the third level before they find out there may not be parking,” he said. “So then the next time they come, they’re parking across the street at Bristol Farms …
 
    “This isn’t about traffic generation — this is about parking demand … We have the potential … of creating a real problem — both for the people who purchase these units and users — if we were to accept it and move forward,” Zuckerman added.
 
    John Waldron of Withee Malcolm Architects LLP said the height and lot coverage variances conform to guidelines stipulated in the Village Plan. Since that idea was nixed in mid-June, Waldron said the developer is following two different sets of rules.
 
    “All these variances were part of where we thought the city was headed,” he said.
 
    As far as aesthetics are concerned, council members said the building — although some elements blend with the project at the old McDonald’s site — appears “fortress-like” and “massive.”
 
    “If we have more of the balcony and less of the edifice, it would really present itself much better,” Zuckerman said.
  
    Council warmed up to the idea of extending the corner tower 10 feet above the 44-foot “conforming” building height because the structure serves as an “architectural asset” that contains the elevator.
 
     The City Council was otherwise enchanted with the building’s appearance and appeal. “I think the design team has done a terrific job. It’s a beautiful looking building — no question about that,” Zerunyan said.
 
    As with any new development, there are concerns about impacts to residents — crowding, traffic, noise and light pollution. Tuesday night’s meeting didn’t yield any public speakers, but Edler said throughout this year-long process, he held several neighborhood meetings to hear what residents have to say.
 
    Council suggested that the corner office space on the first floor be reserved for a café or sandwich shop, and recommended a pharmacy be housed in the building to meet the needs of patients whose doctors are in the Silverdes complex.
 
    “This is why we look at the issues as they come. It seems to me that this is the kind of development that we’ve been hoping for … and will benefit our community,” said Mayor Susan Seamans. “We have to be careful.”
 
The Silverdes application was completed on July 30, and an initial study is expected to be released to the public within weeks. The developer may be required to complete an environmental impact report.
 
Silverdes LLC also requested a conditional use permit, tentative tract map and grading application, which still needs the city’s approval. According to the developer’s timeline, the project would be complete by June 15, 2010.   

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