-- Compiled by Lolita Harper SENIOR VILLAGE...

-- Compiled by Lolita Harper

SENIOR VILLAGE

Planning commissioners approved a one-year project extension for

the Newport Senior Village despite consistent resident complaints of

discrimination and mismanagement at the site.

Edna Nunn, of the 71-unit senior housing center, and another woman

who refused to give her name opposed the owner’s request for a time

extension on proposed expansion plans and alleged poor maintenance

and tenant abuse at the current facility.

Planner Mel Lee said he visited the village and found no evidence

to support Nunn’s claims. Lee also said they checked with the Police

Department and building code division to see if any other reports of

mismanagement were reported and there were none.

Ronald Berggren, the owner of the senior center at 2072 Newport

Blvd., was given a conditional-use permit last year that allowed him

to demolish the apartments on a parcel to the south of his property

to expand his existing 71-unit building by 20 units. Berggren was

unable to close escrow on the adjacent apartment complex where he had

planned for construction and asked for an extension for his project.

Nunn’s allegations of discrimination and harassment are outside of

the city’s scope of influence but can be reported to the Federal Fair

Housing Act. Planning Commissioner Bruce Garlich asked Lee to make

sure Nunn had the appropriate contacts so she could properly pursue

her concerns.

WHAT IT MEANS

Berggren will have a year to follow through with his previously

approved plans.

SANTA ISABEL PROJECT

The third time was the charm for the owner of a large Eastside

lot, as the Planning Commission approved a scaled-down housing

project that calls for four two-story homes on a 27,800-square-foot

lot.

City leaders had told him his previous proposal was too dense for

the single-family area.

Owner Fharad Khosravi had originally submitted a proposal for five

single-family houses at 258 Santa Isabel Ave. but was unanimously

turned down by the Planning Commission and the City Council, which

refused to grant him a deviation from the city’s new lot size

requirements.

Councilwoman Karen Robinson said Khosravi had “done a nice job” on

the project but that the proposed lots were simply too small for the

neighborhood. She encouraged him to return with 6,000-square-foot

lots.

Khosravi’s new plans call for two lots at 6,203 square feet and

the other two at 6,366. The houses will be configured around a common

driveway and only two would face the street, a staff report reads.

WHAT IT MEANS

Khosravi has the green light to build four new homes.

MONTE VISTA PROJECT

The Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for three

two-story houses on a 15,159-square-foot Eastside lot.

Joe Cephalic, the owner of 373 Monte Vista Ave., proposed

construction of three single-family homes each with an average lot

size of 3,990 square feet. According to a staff report, each home

would have three bedrooms, a bonus room and a two-car garage.