Santa Clarita City Council members postponed their discussion Tuesday of an appeal challenging plans for a mixed-use Saugus apartment complex on Bouquet Canyon Road.
A hearing was scheduled for the start of Tuesday’s council meeting, but as Mayor Cameron Smyth was opening the proceedings, Councilwoman Laurene Weste intervened and requested the delay.
A property owner would like to put a 30-unit four-floor mixed-use apartment building in a parking lot between the plaza occupied by Tea Elle C Garden Cafe and a host of other businesses and the International House of Pancakes.
Some of the businesses shared concerns about the scarcity of parking in the lot during a June public hearing in front of the Planning Commission, and IHOP, which leases its property, also had a lawyer at the hearing to share concerns.
But the formal appeal came from neighbors of the project, the Cinema Drive business park tenant-owners and Las Flores apartment complex next door. The latter ultimately withdrew its appeal on Aug. 21.
“I have struggled with this for a while and I’ve talked to a lot of people,” Weste said, adding that many have concerns with the project. “And I think there are opportunities here to allow us to do a better job with this project, and maybe to satisfy some of the concerns.”
She added that she’d already had a conversation with City Attorney Joe Montes prior to the council meeting, regarding whether there would be any hardship to the applicant or the city, Weste indicated Montes said it would be “no problem.”
Councilwoman Marsha McLean echoed the same sentiment regarding her concerns about the project.
Montes stated there is a five-hearing limit for such a project under state law, and the Permit Streamlining Act of 1977 doesn’t apply to the appeals process.
Montes said the council could give members of the public a chance to give the testimony they came for as a courtesy.
“You also might want to see if the applicant has any objection right out of the gate,” Montes added, “other than that, I think it’s within your rights to continue this for a reasonable period of time.”
Councilman Bill Miranda didn’t see the reasoning behind the delay and wanted to hold the discussion, which appeared to be the view shared by the applicant, Bob Neman, principal of the Beverly Hills-based Madison Group.
Hunt Braly, a land-use attorney and partner with Poole Shaffery representing the project, said he was told of this delay barely 90 minutes before the hearing.
“The challenge we have is that we have no direction,” Braly said, adding the initial proposal was filed in 2019 and stakeholders have had ample time to raise concerns.
Stopping the process now would be difficult for the applicant to accept, Braly said, especially since he hasn’t been given an indication as to why that would be necessary or what the fix would be.
Braly indicated the appellant’s previous demand for a parking structure or subterranean parking has never been a part of the plans approved by the city.
“There is no thought here to damage the applicant,” Weste said, adding her goal is to make this project a better plan for existing tenants, in making a motion to continue the discussion. “This isn’t a delaying tactic to hurt the project.”
The motion to bring the discussion back in October passed 4-1 with Miranda objecting.
