Council Scrutinizes Plans to Revive Ailing Tapo Street Business District

Hoping to pump “downtown atmosphere” back into one of this city’s oldest business districts, the City Council took a first look Monday night at plans to revitalize Tapo Street.

The council reviewed new guidelines for facades and fixtures, parking lots and pedestrian walkways that would be required in any new buildings that spring up along Tapo between Los Angeles Avenue and Cochran Street.

But council members gave their closest scrutiny to the biggest question mark at the core of plans for Tapo Street’s future--the empty lots left vacant when the 1994 Northridge earthquake destroyed the Pic ‘N’ Save and Sears Outlet stores.

Tapo Street merchants working with RRM Design Group, the city’s consultant, have envisioned a large shopping center on the empty lots, if a developer can be found. So far, city officials have said, at least two developers are looking into acquiring the pair of parcels.

Council member Barbara Williamson asked the city staff to get an appraisal of the property because their owners have different plans: the Pic ‘N’ Save chain hopes to sell its lot outright, while Beverly Hills businessman Lawrence Morse has said he prefers to hang on to the Sears Outlet lot and the defunct Nappy’s restaurant and find new tenants--although he would consider selling.

“I’d like to see us get an appraisal of the property over there, so that if we don’t get cooperation with the landlords we know where we’re at,” she said. “If we don’t do our part and get this [plan] moving, I don’t see how we can expect the business community to move forward either.”

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The city’s Redevelopment Agency could buy the lots with redevelopment funds in hopes of quickly turning around and selling the consolidated parcel to a developer.

But if Morse and his partners refuse to sell, the city could take the Sears Outlet lot by eminent domain and compensate the owners, a legally thorny measure pursued through the courts.

To gain the property by eminent domain, the agency would have to win written consent of property owners in the Tapo Street project area who represent 75% of the assessed property value, or two-thirds of all the property owners of record within the area.

The city would also need a vote of at least four of the five council members to launch the eminent domain process.

But city staff members have advised the council that acquiring the property up front and then finding a developer would be better than waiting for a potential developer to surface and then working to acquire the land.

“I would think that one advantage would be that if the city bought [all the parcels] we’d repackage it together and sell it as one lot,” Councilwoman Sandi Webb said.

The council also discussed design guidelines for Tapo Street that could shape existing businesses that are remodeling, as well as the hoped-for shopping center.

One chief guideline would require new buildings to be constructed closer to the street with parking lots tucked out of sight behind them, rather than following the current pattern of buildings set back from the street, beyond vast parking lots.

The council also discussed spending public and private money to revamp facades and building exteriors along Tapo Street to make the street more enticing to shoppers.

The design guidelines will get a full review by the city’s Planning Commission before the City Council issues a final decision.