This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

UPDATE: Staff Report to Decide if 2nd + PCH Project Still Viable

Developer awaits Planning Commission staff report on whether to advance a condo-retail-hotel plan.

UPDATE AT 5:15PM Thursday: In two days, and the following phone calls, Patch has had no comment or input from City Hall on the chance that the largest development in Belmont Shore memory if not history may, effectively, be dead if the Planning Department staff endorses a scaled back version. Point person Amy Bodek was called twice yesterday, twice today, and no call back until 2:30. Her staff has indicated at 2:30 p.m. that she won't be reachable for five more days. Belmont Shore's Councilman Gary DeLong was called twice yesterday and twice today.

David Malmuth, developer for the proposed 2nd and PCH project, is awaiting the Planning Commission staff report, which he will receive by the end of the day today to decide whether or not the project will move forward. 

After receiving notice that the Planning Commission had “serious” concerns with the height and density of the project, Malmuth said, he is unsure if the project will be “economically viable.”

Find out what's happening in Belmont Shore-Napleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We don’t know what the staff report is going to say,” he said. “We know they have concerns, and we want to address them, but we don’t want to continue with a project that isn’t of very high quality.”

Malmuth, along with owners of the project with is proposed on the site of the SeaPort Marina, asked for a week’s delay in the Environmental Impact Report certification hearing to give them time to go over the planning commissions concerns, and decide if they wanted to move forward. 

Find out what's happening in Belmont Shore-Napleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We are totally committed to doing this project, but we won't compromise on the quality of the project,” he said. “If we don't have the economic ability to do the project right, we won't do it.”

Third District City Councilman Gary DeLong did not return calls for comment. 

Elizabeth Lambe, executive director of Los Cerritos Wetlands Trust, said the delay didn’t surprise her.

“It felt like a big train was heading our way,” she said. “It isn’t surprising to see that they are regrouping. They have a plan that they want, but it isn’t a legal one.”

Lambe said that the group has violated state law and hasn’t done the studies necessary to make a plan that is not threatening air quality and the overall environment, and costing residents time out of every day from tthe general environment.

“It is a fact, you are required to study feasible alternatives and pick the alternative that is the least environmentally damaging,” she said. “They haven’t done this, and this should not only be taken into consideration for good public policy, but for legal reasons as well.”

The law she is referring is the California Environmental Quality Act, which requires the path chosen to be the one that damages or affects the environment as minimally as possible.

The current proposal includes around 230 residential units, a 100-room hotel, 220,000 square feet of commercial space, a 99-seat theater, a science center and could include much more depending on the development. 

A main concern of the planning commission is height — building height ranges from three to 12 stories, with the 12-story tower on the east end of the property with the bulk of the residential units.

The Planning Commission is required to notify the developer of its concerns 14 days prior to the meeting, which is set to take place Wednesday, Oct. 12.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Belmont Shore-Naples