Laguna Beach : Low-Cost Housing for Seniors Up for Final Vote

Zoning changes and General Plan amendments that could lead to possible construction of low-cost senior housing downtown will come before the City Council for a final vote tonight.

At its July 2 meeting, the council tentatively approved changes that would permit a mixed commercial and residential development to be built on a 25,000-square-foot site at 310 Broadway. If given final approval tonight, the changes become effective Aug. 16.

The proposed project would accommodate a development incorporating an existing bank building with several new office suites, an underground parking complex and 15 apartments.

Although the plan still has to receive design approval from city planners, First American Bank and Trust Co., which owns the site, would reserve the 15 one-bedroom and studio apartments for low-income, elderly residents, who would pay between $400 and $600 a month in rent.

Morris Skenderian, the architect retained by First American, said that if the council approves the project, plans would be submitted for design approval by Thursday.

Because the site falls within the Coastal Commission’s jurisdiction, the state panel also will be required to approve the project. Skenderian predicted that if all approvals are granted, work could begin by early 1986.