Medical building OKd despite advice

Deirdre Newman

The Planning Commission unanimously approved a medical office

building where two mobile-home parks used to sit despite staff

members’ recommendation that it be denied.

The commission approved a four-story office building at 1626 and

1640 Newport Blvd. on Monday. Planning staff members had recommended

denying its general plan amendment and final master plan mainly

because its height -- almost 72 feet -- was not compatible with the

neighborhood, senior city planner Kim Brandt said. Some residents

agreed.

“I’m for it in principle; I just think it’s too tall for the

area,” said resident Terry Shaw, who was part of the successful fight

to reduce a portion of the height of the 1901 Newport Blvd.

condominium project. Shaw is also running for City Council.

The approval came as a relief to Joseph G. Brown, who owns the

properties with his two sisters.

“We were very happy, very satisfied with the whole process,” Brown

said. “It’s frustrating because it was a two-prong deal -- the

closing of the park was controversial, and I’m glad that’s all over

with.”

Brown originally proposed a five-story building for the site. But

the council rejected changing the general plan to accommodate that

height in a previous request by Brown.

Brown submitted his proposal for the four-story building in 2002.

He requested a 33% increase in the building’s square footage --

76,500 square feet -- over what the city’s general plan allows for a

development that generates a moderate amount of traffic. The proposed

building would be 12 feet taller than a typical four-story building.

Brown also requested a zoning change from general business to

planned development commercial, which is a zoning often used for

large, mixed-use developments like Home Ranch. The new zoning doesn’t

have a maximum building height restriction.

The project could result in unavoidable negative traffic effects,

according to the final environmental report.

While planning staff members harbored concerns about the project,

the commissioners didn’t.

“I think my sense was -- based on the comments made by the other

commissioners -- the staff objections were all very subjective,”

Chairman Bruce Garlich said. “I couldn’t find any compelling or code

reasons not to do it. Traffic for this kind of building is virtually

no worse than if it was done commercially, like the existing zoning

code would permit.”

The project also includes a three-level parking structure and a

surface parking lot.

The commission unanimously approved the environmental report, the

general plan amendment, the master plan for the project and a

conversion permit to convert the two closed trailer parks to a

medical office. Commissioner Dennis DeMaio was absent.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.