Salvation Army Tries New Strategy in Expansion Quest : Development: Turned down by the Planning Commission, the agency will ask the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council to approve its $7-million project.

Rebuffed by the Planning Commission, the Salvation Army says it will go to the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council to win approval for the proposed $7-million expansion of its western regional headquarters.

After initially approving the project Nov. 24, the Planning Commission did an about-face in December and voted 4-3 to reject the expansion, complaining that one of the proposed buildings was too large.

The Salvation Army appealed and will take its case before the council in February.

“We think we’ll have more support on the City Council,” said Paul Rader, the Army’s western regional commissioner. Clearly irritated by the commission’s rejection, he said, “We’re not creating an eyesore . . . it will be far more attractive than some developments approved by the city.”

At stake are the organization’s plans to build a large new conference center and office complex on the secluded 42-acre grounds overlooking the Pacific.

The swing vote in the controversy was cast by Commission Chairman Rob Katherman. After voting for the project, Katherman reversed his position, breaking a 3-3 tie at the December meeting.

Katherman said he is concerned about a proposed three-story residential complex that will house people attending training conferences in the new complex. He said he had “no problem” with the two-story meeting rooms, dining areas and conference hall.

“I’m dissatisfied with the design, the bulk and the height of the three-story residential complex. That damn building’s as long as a football field,” Katherman said.

The residential structure is stair-stepped up a hill and, at the city’s request, was to be hidden from view from below by a landscaped berm. The building would exceed the city’s maximum height limits by 12 feet, but the planning staff recommended approval of a variance because it will be out of sight.

The Salvation Army’s western headquarters and cadet training facility is on the old Marymount College campus, between Hawthorne Boulevard and Palos Verdes Drive South. It was purchased 15 years ago from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

After graduation, cadets are assigned to Skid Row missions and social service centers across the 13 western states.

Periodically, the army’s workers and lay volunteers are brought back to the center for additional training, Rader explained. As the need for social services has grown, the army’s outreach programs have expanded, he said, and now more room is needed.

Rader said the army’s architects and staff have worked closely with the city staff, adapting their plans to the city’s requirements. The staff recommended approval and in November the commission approved both the environmental impact report and the conference center plans.

But when the plan came up for final approval, it was rejected.

“Some people on the commission just don’t want any change at all,” Rader said. “We’ve been very patient, gone to considerable expense to meet (the city staff’s) repeated demands for changes.”

Katherman was critical of the army’s stance, saying the organization had not brought the commission alternate designs. He said he wanted the large residential building broken up into smaller units that could be located around the conference center, an idea the Army rejected because of increased costs.