MURRIETA: Approval of Clinton Keith day-care center to be appealed

Hearing will allow residents who live near the project the opportunity to speak

By NELSY RODRIGUEZ - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 29, 2008 5:00 PM PST ∞

MURRIETA ---- A planned daycare center that underwent significant changes to accommodate concerns of residents who live nearby will be challenged again at the behest of at least one neighbor.

The Murrieta City Council on Tuesday will hear an appeal to the Planning Commission's approval of a plan to build a day-care center and office buildings on 2.3 acres at the northwest corner of Clinton Keith Road and Nutmeg Street. The hearing will be held during the council's 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 24601 Jefferson Ave.

Mayor Rick Gibbs and resident John McClendon filed appeals of the project, which was approved by the Planning Commission in June with a 3-1-1 vote.

Commissioner Barbara Lupro cast the no vote, while commissioner Tom Butler abstained from the proceedings because he lives near the project site.

Gibbs stated in a July request for the appeal that he has "no objection to the specifics of the project, but a number or residents that have been involved in the area for 10 years were not able to attend (the June meeting). Through this appeal, they will have the opportunity to attend a public meeting on the project."

McClendon does have objections.

He has been a vocal opponent of the project since its first proposal, in 2006. He has said he believes the area should only be used for office space.

His July appeal, for which he was charged $1,030 by the city, challenges on the basis that an environmental impact review was not completed, and that the public was not given "adequate time" to review project revisions.

"Previously... (city staff) did a good job of keeping us all apprised of new submissions by the owners and upcoming hearings on the proposals," McClendon's appeal states. "However, I am stunned that, this time, no one on city staff had the courtesy to inform the residents or me that the owners had resurrected a new project for their property."

McClendon is also challenging the $1,030 fee he was charged to file the appeal. McClendon's letter states the fee is excessive and unnecessary because Gibbs had already requested the appeal.

McClendon could not be reached for comment Friday.

City officials are recommending that the City Council deny the appeal on the basis that the project does not require an environmental report, city reports state.

The June approval of the project follows a lengthy process of redesigning aimed to address numerous concerns voiced by city officials and residents.

What types of projects would be appropriate on that land has been debated for 10 years.

In 1998, the council denied a proposed shopping center on the site, which was zoned single-family residential. The developer of that plan successfully sued the city, prompting a judge to order the council to reach an accommodation with the property owner, according to a city document.

The agreement permitted a commercial center, as long as it was primarily an office complex serving the neighborhood. But the deal allowed certain retail uses with a special permit.

In 2006, Yoon and Millie Lee, the day-care developers, proposed constructing three buildings with office space and the day care. The commission in May 2007 denied the project, saying the design still posed dangerous traffic conditions for Clinton Keith Road travelers and the architecture was "incompatible" with surrounding homes.

The Lees appealed the denial to the City Council in July 2007, and received permission to redesign the project and again present it to the commission. This summer, the commission approved those plans.

During the June meeting in which the project was approved, commissioners and a handful of residents who spoke mostly in favor of the project commended the Lees for redesigning to satisfy the concerns of residents. But some residents still disapproved because the plans includes a two-story office building.

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.