Residents, DWP Force Delay of Lomita Mini-Mall Project

Lomita residents and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have forced the City Council to delay a decision on whether to give a developer an easement needed to build a mini-mall at the southeast corner of Palos Verdes Drive and Western Avenue.

The City Council unanimously voted Monday night to reconvene the hearing on the easement after members of the Rolling Ranchos Homeowners Assn. protested that the city failed to notify them in time to prepare for the hearing. Councilman Robert Hargrave said the hearing will be scheduled after the city staff has investigated the issue further.

The developer, the Circle T. Corp., wants the easement for the parkway to build a $2.5-million mini-mall. Circle T. Corp. is buying the property from Barry Hon.

Residents and the utility opposed the easement for different reasons. The utility has on the property a water main, which it fears may have to be moved if the easement is approved. Residents, however, opposed granting the easement because they do not want the mini-mall, and they do not want to give up the parkway.

The intersection has been a thorn in the side of Lomita residents in the past. Last September they protested a zone change that would have allowed developers to build on the southwest corner a 24-hour gas station and mini-market that would sell beer and wine. Homeowners said they did not want the market because it would have increased both crime and congestion in the area.

Residents said that vacating the parkway for the mini-mall proposal poses a threat.

“What happens on one corner will ultimately affect the other,” said Mike Baker, president of the homeowners association. “I’m concerned that vacation of that easement will by law set a precedent.” It will make it easier for someone else to come in and develop the property across the street, he said.

Circle T. Corp. officials said that the utility company is on the property illegally and, once the developers obtains the land, they will have the equipment relocated.

The utility is willing to do the relocation, according to Marc Garcia of the Department of Water and Power. “But in no case will the Department of Water and Power relocate free of charge,” Garcia said.

The Circle T. Corp. offered the city $500,000 to vacate the parkway. But there are other monetary factors to consider.

“We are caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Hargrave. He said the developer could sue the city for the easement; the Department of Water and Power could sue because it has a water main on the property and residents could sue because the city is not providing a parkway.

Mayor Charles Belba and Councilman Peter Rossick were absent.