Garden Grove Journal
Two controversial projects won approval from the Garden Grove Planning Commission last week.
A proposal to build a 24-unit three-story apartment complex on Dale Street north of Stanford Avenue,was approved on a 4-0 vote, with three commissioners absent.
The proposal, advanced by Brandywine Homes, had been continued from an earlier meeting when questions were raised about the project. The developer sought a site plan and development agreement that called for a 35 percent housing density bonus for low-to-moderate income families.
That meant waivers from several development standards, including setbacks and the width of driving aisles. Two people spoke on the proposal, one for and one against. The project would be a relatively rare undertaking; few apartment complexes have been built in Garden Grove since the Seventies.
A larger turnout was on hand for a huge proposed project which yet has to get the green light from state officials. The planners voted 4-0 (with three absences) to approve the general plan amendment and planned unit development to construct a hotel, restaurant and entertainment complex on a 5.8-acre site at the northwest corner of Harbor Boulevard and Twintree Lane.
The city is hoping to see a full-service hotel, two limited service hotels, conference/meeting and banquet space, several restaurants and an entertainment venue at that location.
The hotels would together offer 769 rooms and about 39,000 square feet of conference and meeting space, 45,000 square feet of restaurant and meeting pads and a parking structure with 1,297 spaces.
Five people addressed the planners with concerns about the project.
Approval by the planners doesn’t assure that the development will be built. Since the end of redevelopment, the state Department of Finance is deciding which projects “in the pipeline” are “enforceable obligations” of the now-defunct agencies.
While the state has signed off on three other major projects in Garden Grove, it has not given its approval for this one, although city officials say they will try again to convince the DOF to agree.
