"It's certainly the prime intersection in La Cañada Flintridge," Mayor Greg Brown said of the project site. "There are some minor amendments to the plan itself ? places where the plan needed to be clarified and tweaked."
The review suggests improving traffic flow around the new center by removing unnecessary roadways, adding traffic signals at intersections created by new roadways through the center and timing those signals to improve traffic flow. The review also suggests moving the position of a planned park, Brown said.
"They raised a handful of issues and we addressed them," developer Darren Mattix said. "It's got a lot of parking spaces and improved circulation to surface streets. It brings to fruition the community Downtown Village Specific Plan that was adopted by the city of La Cañada Flintridge in 2000 and gives the community a new front door."
The plan, adopted about five years ago, lays down guidelines for development in order to preserve the area's small-town feel and village character.
The public is invited to study the environmental review through Monday at La Cañada Flintridge City Hall and the La Cañada Flintridge public library, and to submit written comments about the project. The notes will be used by the Planning Commission to make adjustments to the project plan.
"We think that EIP Associates, the firm that the city selected for the [environmental review], did a thorough and complete review of the project," Mattix said, adding that his plan had to meet local, state and federal requirements. "It's pretty standard stuff."
If the Planning Commission certifies the environmental review on Tuesday, it will go to the City Council on July 17. If the project survives that meeting, the council will consider it again on Aug. 7 for final approval, Mattix said.
"There's a whole lot of work we need to do," Mattix said.
