Fairfax : Farmers Market Alternative

The A. F. Gilmore Co. will ask the Los Angeles City Planning Commission to approve a scaled-down version of its proposal for a shopping center, hotel and office space at the site of the Farmers Market.

At a hearing in November, a planning official endorsed City Councilman John Ferraro’s proposal to drop the hotel and office building and decrease the total area of the proposed 2-million-square-foot project by more than half.

But Hank Hilty, president of the Gilmore Co., said that he will ask the Planning Commission to overrule that decision at its Dec. 6 meeting, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. at City Hall.

Instead, Gilmore will propose a 25% reduction that would keep the hotel and offices as “important and integral parts” of the project, Hilty said.

In a separate move, Linda Scheid, president of the Miracle Mile Apartment and Commercial Owners Assn., said that her group would also appeal the Planning Department’s ruling on the grounds that an environmental impact report neglected to deal with crime problems.

Scheid, who also heads the Miracle Mile Neighborhood Watch Assn., said that her groups were concerned that a major development at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue would bring more crime to the area.