75A - PH KARA GRANT APPEAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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Contrary to the City's representation at that time, the City received the revised plans for the Car Wash Project on April 26, 2019, received payment from Russell Fischer for review of the Car Wash Project on April 26, 2019, and the City's Planning Department submitted a "Discretionary Action New Submittal" memo to various City departments on May 1, 2019 regarding the newly revised Car Wash Project. A true and correct copy of documents from the Planning Department's file showing these dates is attached hereto as Exhibit I. The City also received a "Revised Focused Traffic Impact Analysis Report" from the Applicant, dated May 17, 2019, for the Car Wash Project. In other words, unbeknownst to the Conklins and the public generally until 10 days before the Commission's September 9ts hearing, the previously approved 2018 Retail/Restaurant Project had been completely revised from a service station, convenience store and multi -tenant commercial building, to a service station, convenience store, and an express car wash with a 4,354-square foot tunnel and 20 vacuum bays. Despite Ms. Conklin's direct inquiry, the City did not apprise her of the fact that the proposed Project was being revised to include a massive new car wash, rather than a multi -tenant commercial building and restaurant, and demolishing the existing small car wash, even though the revised project had been in the works at the City for more months. (See Exhibit L) In light of the fact that the Notice radius did not include the Conklin or most other car wash owners within the City (possibly none were included), the substantial revisions to the Project from the retail building and drive-thru restaurant approved in 2018, the Conklins' inquiries to the City regarding rumored revisions to the Project, and the direct impact of the Project on the Conklins, the 10-day notice afforded by the Commission was unreasonable and inadequate because it was not "reasonably calculated to afford affected persons the realistic opportunity to protect their interests." (Horn, supra, 24 Cal.3d at 617.) V. THE 2018 RETAIL PROJECT WAS A PRETEXT FOR THE CURRENT PROJECT EXPANSION. In 2018, Richard Finkel, representing the Project Applicant, Russell Fischer LP, requested approval of a general plan amendment to re -designate 301 North Tustin Avenue from Professional & Administrative Office (PAO) to General Commercial (GC), an amendment application to rezone 301 and 325 North Tustin Avenue from Professional to General Commercial (C2), a conditional use permit to allow an eating establishment with drive -through service at 301 North Tustin Avenue, and certain variances (collectively, the "2018 Retail Project"). In order to develop the 2018 Retail Project, the Applicant proposed to demolish the then existing restaurant, service station, car wash, and convenience store buildings and to construct a new service station, convenience store, and multi -tenant commercial building on both properties. This was the proposal that Russell Fischer published and proposed to the community in 2016, and for which a Sunshine Ordinance Community Meeting was held on December 3, 2016 23 75A-33