Status:

A new proposal for development was submitted in February 2012 for the Crestridge property, which is solely to develop the 9.75-acre vacant parcel located between the Belmont Assisted Living facility and the Mirandela Senior Housing complex.  The project applications have been deemed complete, and an Initial Study will be circulated by June 2012 as a precursor to an EIR.

Project Details:

The project includes 60 for-sale condominium units ranging in size from 1,700 square feet to 2,100 square feet; 147,000 cubic yards of total grading, which includes 145,000 cubic yards of cut and 2,000 cubic yards of fill; a 2,400 square foot community building for the residents of the development; a community garden area for the residents at the northwest portion of the site; and a series of public and private trails.  Three of the condominium units are proposed to be made available to qualified very-low-income senior households.

Background (2002-2011):

Since 2002, there has been a proposal for utilizing two vacant parcels on Crestridge Drive for a senior housing (market and affordable housing)/senior center/passive park project.  The two parcels are located in the 5600-block of Crestridge Road, between Crenshaw Boulevard and Highridge Road.  One parcel consists of a privately owned 9.76-acre lot (located just East of the Belmont Village Assisted Living Facility) and the other parcel is the City RDA-owned “Crestridge property” located on the corner of Crestridge Road and Crenshaw Boulevard.

The concept for a proposed senior housing/seniors center/passive park project at this site was originally presented by Standard Pacific (a residential developer), at a joint workshop held on May 7, 2002 between the City Council, Planning Commission and Finance Advisory Committee to discuss alternative land uses for the private property and the adjacent City RDA-owned Crestridge property.  At that time, the City Council authorized Standard Pacific to move forward with the project. In August 2003, the City was informed that Standard Pacific was no longer pursuing development of the project and that the property owner (Crestridge Estates LLC) was looking for other developers to proceed with the proposed senior housing/seniors center/passive park project.  Nonetheless, the property owner continued to move forward with assembling the necessary application package for the proposed project, which consists of applications for a General Plan Amendment, Zone Change, Tentative Tract Map, Conditional Use Permit, Grading and Variance. The application package was deemed complete on April 25, 2005. On May 25, 2005, the City completed its preliminary environmental review of the project and determined that the preparation of a Focused EIR would be necessary for the project.

In October 2005, the City was formally notified that Laing Urban would be the developer moving forward with the conceptual project presented to the City Council at the May 7, 2002 workshop. The project proposed by Laing Urban would include up to 102 senior condominiums (including 5 affordable housing units), a building pad for the Peninsula Seniors to develop a “Seniors Center” and a public passive park and trails. The proposed “Seniors Center” will be approximately 10,000 square feet in size and will contain a large multi-purpose room, conference rooms, activity rooms and administrative offices.

An NOP/Initial Study for the project was prepared and circulated for public review between January 4 and February 15, 2006. In addition, on February 14, 2006, the Planning Commission conducted a scoping meeting to obtain public feedback on the NOP/Initial Study. On June 7, 2006, Laing Urban submitted a revised plan in response to comments received during the public scoping process.  Some of the key changes included a reduction in the unit count (from 100 units down to 97); an increase in the number of side-be-side units (townhouse appearance) from 25 to 29; a decrease in the number of the large buildings that contain multiple units from 5 to 4 and a re-orientation of the buildings; a reduction in the overall grading quantity, from 265,000 cubic yards to 150,200 cubic yards; and, relocation of the passive park/overlook area from the eastern portion of the site (adjacent to Crenshaw) to the western edge of the site adjacent to the property line that is shared with Belmont. The proposed location of the Peninsula Seniors Organization building was not affected.

In January 2007, additional revisions were submitted to the City, which included an increase in the unit count (from 97 units, up to 102); a further reduction in the amount of overall grading; and modifications to the building heights and retaining wall layout throughout the site.

In May 2007, the City was formally informed that Laing Urban was no longer pursuing development of the project.  As a result, the property owner (Crestridge Estates LLC) tried to identify other potential developers to proceed with the proposed senior housing/seniors center/passive park project.  A well known and established developer that meets the City’s satisfaction was not able to be identified and so the property owner has opted to pursue development of the privately owned 9.7-acre lot on his own.  Revised applications for the “Crestridge Senior Villas” development and senior center on solely the privately owned 9.7-acre parcel were submitted on December 17, 2008.

On July 16, 2009, the project applications were deemed complete for processing, and the environmental consultant was retained to commence work on a Draft EIR.  However, in December 2009, the consultant requested additional information to complete certain sections of the analysis, which include visual simulations, hydrology and geotechnical reports, among other miscellaneous information.  The applicant has not submitted the requested information.

Subsequently in the March 4, and March 11, 2010 PV Peninsula News, notices were published indicating that Crestridge LLC was in default with the subject property.  As a result, processing of the project applications was suspended, and on January 26, 2011, the applications were withdrawn at the request of the applicant.

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