Vista planners to look at health club proposal

By: CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer | Friday, April 13, 2007 11:09 PM PDT ∞

VISTA -- A well-known health club chain, 24 Hour Fitness, has submitted plans to build a large gym, complete with a swimming pool, basketball court and workout areas, in an east Vista shopping, about a block from Highway 78, according to a city staff report.

It would be the first 24-Hour Fitness in Vista, though the chain already has clubs in several North County cities, including Oceanside, Escondido and Carlsbad. As the company's name implies, the Vista location would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

At a 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday, the city's Planning Commission will evaluate the club's proposal for a two-story, 35,000 square foot health club at Sycamore Avenue and Lobelia Drive.

The gym would be the final piece of a fledgling East Sycamore Commercial Center that has been carved into a hillside across the street from the bustling North County Square shopping plaza.

"A gym is a nice amenity for a neighborhood, and less controversial, generally, than restaurants and bars and other types of retail uses," said Richard Marcus, developer of the East Sycamore center. "People who work out tend to be healthy and quiet."

The center, which required extensive grading before it was ready for development, now features several terraced levels, as well as tenants such as Walgreens and Panda Express.

A vacant upper lot was originally designed to accommodate two smaller commercial buildings, but 24-Hour Fitness wants to put a single building there, said John Conley, the city's acting community development director.

A spokesman for 24-Hour Fitness could not be reached for comment Friday, but Marcus said the chain was probably drawn to the location, on the eastern fringe of the city, because of close freeway access.

"This property just has very easy access to the 78," Marcus said. "You could go work out and get back on the highway and get wherever you're going without having to fight traffic on city streets."

24 Hour Fitness has more than 3 million members and more than 350 health clubs, in 16 states and four countries in Asia, according to the company's Web site.

In other business, the Planning Commission will begin the process of updating the city's Design Review Manual, a weighty technical document that was adopted in 1988 to spell out the city's architectural standards.

During a January workshop, City Council and Planning Commission members said they wanted to see better quality architecture in commercial and industrial buildings. They favored more accents on building exteriors and a wider variety of building materials used.

City staff members have developed some potential amendments to the manual and will solicit feedback at Tuesday's meeting.

"We really need some direction from them on the specifics," Conley said. "We don't want to miss anything that's important to them."

The Planning Commission meets at City Hall, 600 Eucalyptus Ave.

-- Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.

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