For the record, I should not be cast as “the opposition†to Green Hollow Square. I will enthusiastically SUPPORT a project which has the least possible impacts on our community, in terms of traffic, noise, pollution, and destruction of historic resources – the Barry Building, and the median and Coral Trees which comprise our Scenic Corridor.
I am still hopeful that we might yet be offered a project that more fully reflects the comments in the Draft EIR: specifically one that is smaller, with more light and open space, that combines concepts from Alternative 2 (reduction in total square footage and a significant decrease in restaurant space) with Alternative 4, which preserves the Barry Building and integrates it into the overall project.
According to the FEIR, with a 25% reduction in square footage and a decrease in restaurant space, new car trips would be reduced by more than half. The developer’s preferred project design — 76,000 square feet (including outdoor dining) — will produce over 2400 additional trips a day at adjacent intersections. There is really no meaningful way to mitigate the traffic impacts without reducing the size of the project.
This would also dramatically reduce the construction impacts, and be much more compatible with the San Vicente Scenic Corridor Specific Plan. We would still have a new shopping center, but we would not have to lose an historical resource in the process.
Elin Schwartz
