Council voted 3-2 (Silva and Zahra “no”) on December 7 to send a large housing development project, The Pines at Sunrise Village (at the corner of Euclid and Rosecrans), back to the Planning Commission for review.

Concept drawing of the proposed Pines at Sunrise Village project from a city staff report.

Shopoff Realty Investments has proposed the redevelopment of a 12.52-acre site at the Sunrise Village Shopping Center. The project involves the demolition of 108,300 square feet of existing on-site uses (45% vacancy) and the construction of a 164-dwelling unit residential community, including 49 detached single-family residential homes and 115 townhomes.

Approval would require changing the site’s zoning from Commercial to low/medium density Residential.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on October 27 and recommended (on a 4-1 vote) that City Council approve the project with a creek restoration public benefit.

Many residents who live around the proposed project and business owners on the site, spoke against the project, citing concerns over displacing longstanding small businesses, density, and potential traffic impacts.

Many residents and small business owners spoke against the proposed project. Photo by Gaston Castellanos.

Many said they would prefer that the current shopping center be revitalized, rather than replaced with more housing. Owners of long-time businesses, such as a veterinarian, a tutoring center, a spa, and a Korean restaurant said they felt they were being pushed out of the Sunrise Village shopping center.

A few commenters, some of whom were members of the Building Industry Association, spoke in favor of the project, citing the need for housing, and the fact that the applicant met all legal requirements.

Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Whitaker, Councilmember Nick Dunlap, and Mayor Jung voted to send the project back to the Planning Commission, citing residents’ concerns.

Councilmembers Jesus Silva and Ahmad Zahra voted against sending it back to the Planning Commission. They both asked that the Planning Commission be given specific direction as to what changes ought to be made to the project.

According to Planning Manager Heather Allen, a Planning Commission date has not been set to re-consider the Pines project because the developer will need to revise their project design.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Mayor Fred Jung voted against sending the project back to the Planning Commission. He in fact voted to send it back to the Planning Commission. We regret the error.