Council Reconsiders Order for Builder to Remove Stucco

The City Council will reconsider a decision to require developer Danny Bakewell to remove stucco from the outside of a soon-to-be opened shopping center because it was not part of the approved design.

At the behest of Councilwoman Joyce Streator, the council agreed Monday to revisit the issue at its next meeting after Bakewell and neighbors of the Fair Oaks Renaissance Plaza packed the council and warned that it would delay the May 20 opening for the center, which was built with a $15-million city subsidy.

Last week, the council voted 5 to 2 in favor of removing the stucco from the center at Orange Grove Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue because Bakewell installed the coating without city approval.

“Suddenly we are bending over backward and changing the rules,” said Councilwoman Ann-Marie Villicana, who opposed reconsideration.

But Streator, who was among the five in favor of removing the stucco, said she thought last week’s vote referred the matter back to a design commission and did not require the removal of the stucco.

Bakewell said the use of stucco instead of concrete block amounted to a materials change, not a design change, and that staff had delayed acting on his request to approve it.