Garden Grove : City to Urge Rejection of Shopping Center Project

The city’s planning staff will recommend tonight that the Planning Commission deny a proposal to build a shopping center on a 1.87-acre vacant field on the south side of Trask Avenue, west of Brookhurst Street and skirting the Garden Grove Freeway.

The proposal is scheduled to be heard at a 7 p.m. Planning Commission meeting.

The 33,600-square-foot shopping center would contain three buildings, including a tire store and an automotive center. The proposal calls for 105 parking spaces, considerably fewer than the 168 required by the municipal code.

In a report to the commission, the planning staff identifies “several major problems which could prove to be detrimental to the surrounding area,” such as the 63-car parking space deficiency, roll-up garage doors facing the street and traffic problems, including one caused by the project site’s proximity to the westbound freeway entrance.

The staff report also notes that the applicant, Irvine-based Jordan Architects Inc., has only submitted a single design and has not considered alternatives.