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After a controversial 16+ months of public hearings and protests concerning The Villages, the Alhambra City Council will weigh in on the project, with a new public hearing on January 11 at the regularly scheduled City Council Meeting (Item #20 on the City Council agenda).
By News Desk
After four months, five meetings and over 300 public comments, in a 7-3 vote on November 16, 2020, Alhambra’s Planning Commission finalized a resolution to reject the project as proposed, even after the developers made some alterations to their original plan.
In the latest iteration, Ratkovich and Elite International Development reduced its total proposed units from 1,061 (516 market-rate and luxury condos, 545 market-rate and luxury apartments) to 839 (294 mostly market-rate and luxury condos, 545 mostly market-rate and luxury apartments), but stood firm on 4,347 parking spaces and the limited traffic and environmental mitigations offered in its Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The project’s EIR states: “In order to avoid all significant and unavoidable traffic impacts, a maximum of 60 apartments and 60 condominiums could be constructed at the Project Site.”
Moratorium petition
Over 500 Alhambrans have signed a petition seeking a moratorium on ‘The Villages’ and other large-scale developments in Alhambra. The petition and other information and community sentiment about The Villages can be found on the Emery Park Community Group’s website.
In a January 10 email to its members, Grassroots Alhambra in Action, a local community group, told its members that it agrees with the Planning Commission’s analysis that currently “unaddressed environmental and health concerns” must be properly mitigated for any iteration of the project to move forward.
A third local group, The Coalition for Equitable Development at The Villages, is calling for thorough studies on vapor mitigation of the site similar to EPA consultant Lenny Seigel’s 2016 report titled “Tales of Alhambra: Vapor Intrusion.” Nearby residents would also like to see their homes tested for vapor intrusion.
Site’s contamination
The City Council also appears to be concerned about the site’s contamination. City Council Agenda Item #3 for Monday’s meeting is a presentation by Raymond Chavira, Superfund Project Manager for the EPA.
It is unknown whether a representative of the project applicant will speak tomorrow.
The intended 38-acre site of “The Villages” borders Alhambra’s industrial zone to the north and east, and single-family neighborhoods to the south and west.
> On Monday, January 11 at 6:00 pm, the Alhambra City Council will consider Alhambra’s largest-ever residential development, The Villages, situated on top of an EPA Superfund site.
ACCESS THE ZOOM MEETING Zoom Webinar direct link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85185234870?pwd=MmpBSytqcnFKRlBEWkQwaWJDOWpmZz09
Webinar ID: 851 8523 4870, Passcode: 548728 Or by telephone by dialing 888-475-4499 and entering Webinar ID: 851 8523 4870 and Passcode: 548728. Please Note: All members of the public calling or logging into the meeting will be muted so that the meeting can proceed.
MAKING VERBAL COMMENT For those wishing to speak on an agenda item, please email Deputy City Manager David Tran at dtran@cityofalhambra.org by 5:00 p.m. prior to the meeting with the item number you wish to speak on and the phone number you will use when calling or the name you will use when logging into the meeting. You should then call or log into the meeting at least 10 minutes prior to its start time. Staff will unmute you and announce you when it is your time to speak. You will have five minutes to speak, unless that time is adjusted by the Mayor. If you do not have access to a computer please call 626-570-3256 to request public comment.
MAKING WRITTEN COMMENT As an alternative to speaking during the meeting, you can email your comments to the City Clerk at lmyles@cityofalhambra.org by no later than 5:00 p.m.