Saddleback/South Beach : MISSION VIEJO : Planners OK 24-Hour Supermarket, Drugstore

A proposed supermarket and drugstore will be allowed to stay open 24 hours if they can get along with a nearby residential neighborhood, the Planning Commission decided Monday.

Commissioners approved a 148,000-square-foot shopping center at Los Alisos Boulevard near Marguerite Parkway on a 4-1 vote with a bundle of conditions, including a proviso that will pull the stores’ overnight privileges if neighbors complain.

The restrictions “will condition them to be good neighbors,” said Commissioner Sunnie Castner. “I think they will work very, very hard to make sure they have a good relationship with the people across the street.”

Commissioners were persuaded to allow the overnight operations for a proposed Hughes supermarket and Sav-On Drugs by a pledge from Sav-On to have a pharmacist working around the clock.

“We have absolutely no 24-hour drugstores in Mission Viejo,” Commissioner Susan Wilson said.

Residents had complained about plans for lighting, traffic and the overnight stores.

The developer, Doerken Properties Inc., agreed to install low-glare lights, and city studies indicated that surrounding streets would not be overburdened.

However, Commissioner Tom Potocki, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said the future center would still be a burden on its neighbors. “I know if I was living there, I would have a hard time” with the project, he said.