Private property owner seeking to build mixed-use project on northwest corner of Marguerite, La Paz

I am writing in response to finding out there is a plan to develop the gardens center into a 6 story mixed retail/apartment center.

I strongly oppose the development of this center for higher density housing/retail. What I love about this city is that it’s quiet and low key and I like the small businesses that this center/intersection currently houses. The la Paz/Marguerite intersection already has enormous amounts of traffic during school drop offs/pick ups and I purposely avoid this intersection during these times! Additionally the traffic towards the freeway on weekdays is bumper to bumper with the other middle school and high school there too. It takes meat least 1/2 hour to make it to the freeway and I live near the la Paz/Marguerite intersection… so we’re talking to go 1 mile it takes me a half hour. That’s not the way it should be on our city street.

This is a city for families.. not for “nightlife” or for retail or trendy spots. I can’t attend board meetings bc I have three young kids and I work so I’m very busy with after school games as well as homework and dinner needs. Please take this email in lieu of my attendance for your next hearing for planning/development. If you only allow in person comments to be considered, you are alienating the majority of your residents who also have children and activities to attend to! Please read all the comments in response to the article in the online MV life newsletter and you will see I am not alone on this matter.

Do not punish your residents who love this city the way it is. If I wanted a more trendy city then I would’ve lived elsewhere. This project is a big NO!!!

-Elisa Kemmer

This is not an ideal place to build this project, in fact it is not even close. Do not destroy the suburbs. Stick to the plan that was responsible for this beautiful city please. Go to the meeting 12/14 and contact your elected city officials.

Please don’t allow this to happen! There’s already so much traffic on La Paz and Marguerite, this project would make it 1,000 times worse!

I oppose this project for the same reasons many others listed before my comment. This will impact our community negatively for those who have been here.

As a 50 year resident. We have seen many changes most were well thought out and did not impact the quality of life in this residential community. This project with its location completely goes against all that Mission Viejo stands for. It is a pity but these types of projects will drive home dwellers elsewhere.
As you all know traffic on LaPaz at peak times and school; schedules are already unbearable this would be the final nail.

Please consider the views of the residents and not profit gauging private developers when this proposal comes up for a vote.
The biggest NO that I can say.

Mission Viejo was created as a Master Planned Community to project and protect a way of life. This new proposal does just the opposite. The proposal helps only Value Rock Realty the owner, and destroys it for the rest of the community. Close the Proposal down immediately! No more "OSO" slight of hand.

I agree with all of the other comments that have been made.
Traffic at the intersection of La Paz & Marguerite is absolutely crazy at all hours but especially during morning and evening hours.
Has a traffic study been done???
I would think there should be consideration for all of the homes behind and to the sides of the property. Six stories is way to high and will take away their privacy.
The current owners have not kept up and maintained the property since the purchase
Never a termite inspection - so this has been their plan all along.

The elevation @ the parking lot at the bottom of the property (Diho Siam) is 440ft. The elevation of the homes on Floresta Lane directly behind the proposed development is only 500 feet. A six story structure will tower over those homes. Simple solution is for our Planning Commission to do the right thing & Keep this property zoned Office/Professional….but will our Planning Commissioners do the right thing?

I agree with all of the "No" comments and all the reasons noted. This project should not be allowed to move forward.

Unlike most people here, I welcome the change. In case you haven't been paying attention, California has a housing shortage. I'm 23 and I'm pretty pessimistic about my prospects of buying a home in my hometown, or even my home state!

"I've been here since the 70s and I bought a house in a single-family neighborhood and I don't want anything to change" -- things HAVE been changing. Populations grow, and our communities have to adapt to that.

"I worked hard to live here." Yeah, but someone born fifty years later and working just as hard couldn't afford to live here. Do they deserve to live here any less than you?

"We could just build more houses." Where? Into the mountains? How many emergency alerts did you get for the neighborhoods in the canyon having to evacuate due to fire and mudslides? Look at Superior, Colorado. The only option is to build up.

"Think of the traffic!" Have you considered the fact that maybe the issues aren't more people living here, but that it takes a car to move around in our own city? We are super lucky because we have pleasant weather most days of the year here. We should be able to run errands on foot or on bicycle, easily. In fact, residents of the new development would have close access to the Ralph's and several schools-- with safe streets, they shouldn't need to drive all that much. We should be asking for infrastructure that takes cars off the road rather than fighting against higher density.

Extremely irresponsible of the City!

I cannot believe the City would even entertain this option. Traffic is horrific in this part of Mission Viejo. The school congestion is terrible, kids cannot ride bikes because the street are to crowed and unsafe. Noise and air pollution is getting worse. This is not the location for low income high density housing. Continue looking at the the mall. This is a great area next to the college, freeway and cheaper housing and existing apartment complexes. Stop trying to ruin our property values with your irresponsible and poorly thought out plans.

There is a petition circulating regarding this project on Change.org

Please do not allow private developers to pad their pockets and ruin the landscape of our community by granting an unfeasible zoning change.

Let’s talk both benefits and worries calmly!

The reality is that communities do change and well thought out change is actually good (those that don’t, miss on the new opportunities, and eventually fade away). The reality of MV today (not when the Master Plan was conceived) is that we do need a dose of vitality. It is ridiculous that we need to drive to neighboring cities for good restaurants or any decent entertainment. So let’s listen to what the younger generation wants and needs to refresh our city in the hope that we’ll attract them and grow our community, rather than let it slowly decay into a retirement village.

Practically speaking, let’s first hear the pro’s and con’s, see if we can improve the former and mitigate the latter, and then let’s have a fact-based discussion. Until then, I have to agree with a previous comment that all the “loud and emotional” statements do sound like the biases of times past…

On a lighter note, if we had more to do locally, I think we’d have more walking and less traffic :)

I think I have an idea that would help. Put the whole idiotic idea underground.

No way, as is the traffic is horrible on LaPaz and the city is getting too crowded. Six story high development? This is not LA ...
There are enough apartment buildings surrounding Mission Viejo off Eltoro, Crown Valley , Oso etc. i say NO to such project

I strongly urge the City to REJECT this proposal
1. The size/height of the building greatly exceeds any other structure along Marguerite Parkway north of Crown Valley, or on La Paz east of I-5. A 6 story building is way out of scale with other developments in the area, which are 1-2 story.
2. Has an EIR been done to evaluate the impact of the additional traffic on adjacent roads? As others have noted, La Paz is heavily congested west of Marguerite to I-5, especially during school hours. Adding more traffic from this large scale development is of great concern.
3. Vehicle entrance to, and exit from the complex will entail left turns across traffic lanes from eastbound LaPaz, and to northbound Marguerite. This would appear to generate considerable congestion, even if additional traffic signals are installed.
4. The complex backs up to existing residential zones, with the potential for additional noise and light pollution, as well as additional traffic congestion, with the potential of seriously impacting the valuation of the properties.

My family and I have lived in MV since 1995 and we also live very close to where this development is being proposed. This is a complete joke! Why on earth is this project even being considered is beyond me. We already have so much traffic on Marguerite and LaPaz. If anything, the shopping center across the street where CVS should be revitalized and updated with businesses, shops and eateries. We DO NOT need high density housing at this location. Our city council must not approve this!

The hard truth is that the city is in desperate need of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods. The current trend of car-centric suburban sprawl has lead to nothing but longer commutes, housing scarcity, higher infrastructure maintenance costs, more traffic and parking lots 3-4 times larger than the businesses they actually serve. People don’t realize the only way to reduce traffic is to build developments that don’t require a car for every single trip such as mid rise, mixed use zoning and invest in pedestrian/ bike friendly developments. Reduce parking minimums and make it easy for residents to walk/ bike to the nearby shops and I guarantee this development could actually lead to a happier, less congested city.