SIMI VALLEY : Planning Panel OKs Mall, Office Towers
After months of bickering over project details, the Simi Valley Planning Commission unanimously approved Wednesday night construction of the city’s first regional shopping mall and office complex.
The 1.5-million-square-foot project will be considered by the City Council at its Sept. 16 meeting. The project has been discussed for five years, and a majority of council members have expressed support.
Indianapolis-based developer Melvin Simon & Associates wants to build an enclosed mall on 126 acres north of the Simi Valley Freeway, between 1st Street and Erringer Road. The project includes a 980,000-square-foot regional shopping mall and two office towers with 500,000 square feet of space.
Planning Commission approval was delayed after hearings in May and August because of unresolved parking issues and a debate over the proposed four-story height of the office towers.
The advisory panel finally agreed to let the council decide how much parking the developer should provide and to set the height limit on the office buildings.
Another concern of planning commissioners was whether the planned construction would cause access and parking problems for Robert A. Amore, co-owner of the Oakridge Athletic Club on Erringer Road.
The developer now will be required to solve those problems.
If approved by the council, construction on the shopping mall could begin by mid-1993.
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