Drawing of proposed medical office building The City Council on Monday unanimously approved the development of an energy-efficient medical office building at 525 E. Los Angeles Ave., after the addition of a condition providing for future access to the Arroyo Simi on the project site.

The original proposal for the project was approved by the planning commission in June, but the decision was later appealed by Mayor Paul Miller and Councilmember Glen Becerra due to inconsistencies with the city's design guidelines.

Following the appeal, the developers—Agoura Hills-based Greeneway Development—met with city staff to modify the exterior design.

The project calls for the redevelopment of an outdated medical office building that currently sits on the nearly 2-acre site. The existing one-story structure, built in 1964, would be demolished to make way for a new 25,400-square-foot, three-story medical office with 17 for-sale units.

Project architect Mark Di Cecco presented the council with two alternatives at Monday night's meeting, the first a slightly revised, softer version of the original proposal that maintained the contemporary look the developers initially planned.

The second alternative, which the City Council ultimately approved, featured a Spanish-style design more like what is currently found in the city.

The new, Santa Barbara resortstyle architecture includes red clay tile roofing, shed roof overhangs, arched windows and smooth stucco exteriors.

Di Cecco said that regardless of which alternative was chosen, the developers were committed to incorporating in the project as many "green" elements as possible. However, the Spanishinspired architecture featured in the approved design reduces the building's level of energy efficiency.

"It doesn't have the really strong, deep overhangs," Di Cecco said. "With the tile roof, the actual areas of flat roof that we have are diminished."

The flat roof of the initial proposal allowed a greater opportunity for the use of roof-mounted solar panels and "cool roof" technology. But the sloped tile roof in the Spanishstyle alternative reduced the upper roof space by 15 percent.

Also, the original design included shaded and recessed windows that limited direct sun exposure, reducing the building's air conditioning load.

The preference council members expressed for the design of alternative No. 2 outweighed the loss of some energyefficient elements.

"When I found out that you're really only going to gain 15 percent more of your solar capability on the top with (the first) design and that you are still going to be a green building with (the Santa Barbara-style) design, I'm leaning more toward the (second) design," Councilmember Steve Sojka said.

As part of its approval, the council requested that a potential easement to the Arroyo Simi be required to provide for access to the creek in the future.

The original design did include some landscaping at the rear of the site near the Arroyo but also had plans for a wrought-iron fence that would have blocked access to the wash.

Becerra said that access to the Arroyo is a necessary amenity for the project.

"I think it's a great idea, especially for the people who will visit or work in that building," he said.

Sojka added that he would like incoming developers to help the city with its goal of enriching the Arroyo by including landscape enhancements as part of their designs.

"It's 11 miles long, and we need all the help we can get," he said.