Last Chance For The Public To Comment On ‘The Villages’ | Alhambra’s Largest, Most Controversial Development

SOURCE: Next Architecture | Rendering of the project, The Villages in Alhambra

MEDIA RELEASE

Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 is the public’s last chance to comment on The Villages, an 839 luxury development that international investment firm and The Ratkovich Company want to build on what is one of the San Gabriel Valley’s busiest through-streets to the 710 freeway.

Instructions on how the public can log in ahead of the 6pm meeting as well as how to submit their public comment before 5pm are on page 2 of the 160-page agenda of this Special Meeting, called by Alhambra’s City Council exclusively to discuss The Villages.

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Emery Park Community Group is calling for maximum affordable housing, a clean-up of the Superfund site, low-density, a re-do of the traffic study given that if built as proposed, up to 7,752 more cars a day will be added to Fremont and the surrounding streets, and for Councilman Ross Maza, who’s a real estate agent, to recuse himself because should he deliberate and vote, he would violate Alhambra’s Code of Ethics.

At its November 2019 meeting, the Alhambra Planning Commission has already rejected the Developer’s proposal with a resolution approved by 7 out of 10 commissioners.

Some alternatives mentioned in D-EIR:

  1. no project, all remains the same
  2. 60 condos, 60 apartments = no significant environmental or transportation impacts
  3. reduced density: north plan of condos from 516 to 292
  4. reduced density: north plan of condos from 516 to 230
  5. reduced density: north plan of condos from 516 to 290 + reduce apartments in south from 545 to 500
    • Based on the analysis in Section VI, Alternative 3 was selected as the “environmentally superior” alternative (which means 230 townhouses and 545 apartments = 775 units, and around 3100 parking spaces), yet the latest proposal from the developers is 839 total units.

The fate of a 13-acre lot across the street is still unknown, and when built out, that will also add more traffic to the 2-lane street. That was also a controversial development, where Gabay developers wanted to install a Lowe’s, which was approved by the City Council, but then there was a lawsuit by a grassroots group.

For a list of prior press, more about the developers, a link to the 550+ person signed petition, and more, click HERE.