Some property owners next to a Saugus pancake house parking lot that’s being eyed for an apartment complex have a last-ditch appeal on the agenda for Tuesday’s Santa Clarita City Council meeting.
While the city’s Planning Commission put several conditions on the project, a City Hall approval for the 30-unit complex could lead to a legal challenge, according to one of the appellants.
The applicant, Robert Neman, whose plans have been submitted as Harvard 826 LLC, would like to put apartments and four “live-work units” in a four-story mixed-use building directly catty-corner to the International House of Pancakes in Saugus.
“The first floor would include new commercial space, divided into several tenant spaces and totaling 7,234 square feet, as well as utility space and access to the upper residential floors,” according to plans submitted to the city. “The upper floors include 26 one-bedroom apartments along with four live-work units and common space for residents.”
The live-work units would provide 1,640 square feet of additional commercial space, according to the plans.
The plans also call for construction of a new parking lot on vacant land in the southwest corner of the shopping center. This parking lot would construct 40 new parking stalls for use by commercial tenants and customers in the center.
But those opposed to the project have said the 49 proposed residential spots and 44 proposed commercial spots — a total of 249, which includes the current spots restructured for the work — aren’t enough to support the project that’s being added.
Following the Planning Commission’s initial approval in April, an appeal was filed, an effort largely led by the tenants of the neighboring Cinema Drive business park, which led to another review by the commission in June.
There are already parking issues at the neighboring lot, according to Reena Newhall, who represents the largest tenant-owner of the business park next door.
An attorney representing the IHOP, which only leases the property, registered similar concerns during the appeal, as did the owner of Jill’s Cake Creations, which sits across from the IHOP.
As a result of the Planning Commission’s review and subsequent 4-1 approval — Commissioner Tim Burkhart was the lone holdout — several conditions were placed on the project’s approval, pending the City Council’s review.
The conditions include: the submission of an approved construction plan before building can begin; the new parking lot must be completed before construction can begin; conditional approvals for solar shades in the carport; and the most discussed aspect, the facility’s parking management plan, which must be maintained by a professional company and subject to an eight-month review.
The live-work units are also required to stay as such for one year, at which point they can be converted into traditional residential units.
A representative for the parking company contracted for the facility said at the June appeal he didn’t think the lot and its neighbors would continue to have problems if the facility hired a business to manage the situation.
One of the appeals, which was filed by the neighboring Las Flores Apartments, also next door, was withdrawn Wednesday, according to city officials.
But the parking guarantees did not allay Newhall’s concerns, which, she said, also included the fact that she didn’t think the city had the ability to say no to the developer, and that was part of the problem.
She said the appeal has cost several thousand dollars but believed state laws have removed too much power from local officials to say yes or no to plans when neighbors raise concerns.
“I can’t believe they’re pushing this through,” Newhall said Monday in a phone interview. “This is getting railroaded by the state. We’re getting railroaded. They just want housing at whatever the cost, right?”
The appeal in June in front of the Planning Commission led to a nearly two-hour discussion, with some residents also happy to see more housing come on the market, as well as a “mixed-use” space that might cut down on the need for some to commute.
According to Zillow, the average rent statewide in California is $2,150 for a one-bedroom apartment, and Santa Clarita is right about the average at $2,140 per month, as of the real estate website’s Aug. 25 data.
