LAGUNA NIGUEL : Scaled-Down Project Wins Final Approval

The City Council has let stand its earlier approval of a 17-acre shopping center in the Bear Brand community, but gave final approval only after further modifying a project that already had 34 conditions attached to it.

The proposed center, which will include a seven-screen movie theater and three restaurants, has been opposed by some residents as a hulking, noisy intrusion into their neighborhood. It was the first time a Planning Commission decision has been appealed to the City Council in this city.

The council voted 3 to 1 Tuesday in favor of the project, which Shea Business Properties will develop on the northeast corner of Camino del Avion and Street of the Golden Lantern. Thomas W. Wilson cast the dissenting vote and Mayor Patricia C. Bates abstained.

Initially, residents opposed the center because it would obstruct ocean views. Later objections revolved around the size of the theater, walkways in the theater area and the attendant increase in noise and traffic.

In approving the project, the council ordered that the theater be reduced from 32 to 28 feet in height and that a seventh screen be added while maintaining the overall 1,600-seat capacity. The latter provision is intended to reduce the number of people arriving and leaving the theater at a given time.

The council also agreed to require that additional pedestrian pathways be created near the theater while moving automobile traffic farther away.

During the approval process, the size of the project was shrunk by more than 5,000 square feet, senior planner Micki Harris said. A proposed service station was also deleted.