Three-story office building clears first hurdle
By Michelle Knight

knight@theacorn.com

A developer’s proposal to build a three-story office building at First Street and Enchanted Way, a location that will soon mark the entrance to the Simi Valley Town Center mall, was approved by two neighborhood councils recently.

Neighborhood Council Two last week unanimously approved owner and developer Mark Sheu’s plans to build a 64,000square-foot building at 2655 First Street, the site that Enchanted Way Nursery has occupied for a couple of decades. A week earlier Neighborhood Council One passed the proposal with one dissenting vote.

Steve Demski, a two-year member of Council One, said he voted down the project because he thinks a three-story building isn’t an appropriate use of the site.

Some members of both councils voiced concern about traffic from the neighboring Grand Vista Hotel. Tim Lasure, the hotel’s general manager, said he and Sheu discussed the traffic situation and found no cause for alarm.

“His parking lot will be full when mine is empty,” Lasure said.

He added that he’s anxious to see more business come to the area. “I’ve been waiting for things to happen here, and I’m real happy.”

On the issue of traffic, Tony Sereno, chair of Council Two, said some council members questioned the thoroughness of a traffic study done for the project, and others were concerned with a design that provides for only one driveway. He said these issues could be remedied by the time the project reaches the city’s final approval stage.

The intersection of First Street and Enchanted Way is receiving a lot of attention these days. In addition to the mall and the proposed office building on the northeast and northwest corners respectively, a project to construct a Wendy’s restaurant on the southwest corner was approved recently by the city council.

The planning commission is expected to review the project on Aug. 17.

Meanwhile, Neighborhood Council Two approved another developer’s plan to build condohouses currently sit on the largerthan-average lot.

Preliminary plans call for 10 condominiums to be built, each with about 1,400 square feet, three bedrooms, 2 ½ baths and two-car garages.

Sereno said the long-term goal for the neighborhood, which is zoned for high-density housing, is for it to change from its current makeup of dilapidated rentals to one with townhomes, apartments or condominiums. When a development goes in, he said, the streets landscaping installed, giving the area a facelift.

Sereno said it’s difficult to get residents of this area to turn out at neighborhood council meetings. He attributes it to the fact that many are renters without a vested interest in the neighborhood.

“I’m not sure I’d like this community to stay the way it is,” Sereno said. “It needs a lot of work.”

The project is expected to go before the planning commission on Aug. 3.