Council OKs new hotel and office complex on Creekside

Plan is approved by 4-1 vote after neighbors show up to protest the application at hearing

By Steven Raphael

The city council tackled a variety of issues at their Oct. 3 meeting, but the most important was a plan for a 210-room, seven-story hotel and a 170,000-square-foot office building at 649 Creekside Way. It was also the least contested.

Council approved the hotel and office plan unanimously, asking only that the hotel be built before or at the same time as the office building.

According to Community Development Director Sharon Fierro, hotels generate tax revenues for the city that office buildings do not.

Fierro said it would be the city's loss if only the office building is built. A previous hotel project approved for the same location never materialized, so the city wants to make sure that the hotel gets built this time around.

"That's a great location for a hotel and we don't want to lose the opportunity to have a hotel there," Fierro said.

One of the most contested items of the night was a zone change application that would rezone a property at 205 Redding Road to allow construction of eight townhomes on the site. The lot had previously been zoned for single-family residential.

Neighbors turned out en masse to speak against the project, but council members approved the plan by a 4-1 margin, with Matthew Dean voting nay.

Neighbors expressed concerns about privacy, density, traffic, parking and noise. Residents also worried that their neighborhood was becoming too dense.

"I am not opposed to development on this site," said Heather Ochoa, a neighbor. "I am opposed to the size of this development. It's part of a neighborhood trend and we want to stop it."

However, council members did note that Que Nader, a representative of the developer, Hoffman Terraces, has repeatedly shown his desire to work with neighbors to alleviate their concerns.

"Nader is concerned about the issues of the neighbors and has acted in good faith," Councilman Dan Furtado said.

Furtado also pointed out that under the General Plan, Hoffman Terraces could create a development of significantly greater density at that location, and that the proposed zone change is only necessary to allow the townhomes to be sold instead of rented.

"I think if there are concerns with density, we would have to look at the General Plan for this area," he said.

Another hotly contested item was an appeal on an earlier planning commission decision filed by two dentists, Dr. Dennis Wong and Dr. Lee Walker, to allow more than two dentists to practice in the building at the same time. The condition limiting the office to two practicing professionals had been stipulated by the planning commission in January 1999, when the building was first approved.

Wong and Walker have subsequently appealed to have that condition modified. They argue that Walker's practice involves complicated surgeries that require the presence of an assisting physician and an anesthesiologist. They argue that all of these doctors would be assisting the same patient.

Their current proposal would limit the number of employees in the building during surgeries to 12, the exact number of parking spaces provided.

The council voted unanimously to grant the appeal.

However, neighbors expressed concerns about the enforceability of the proposal, parking and the good faith of the dentists.

"There has been no compliance so far," said Dr. Kent Follmar Sr., whose dental practice is located next door to the Wong building. "I wonder what would lead you to believe the people will comply with the watered down version."

Furtado said that since all the dentists would be working on the same patient, the surgeries would not actually be in violation of the two-dentist condition. "I think the narrow interpretation of 'only two doctors' is very inappropriate," he said. "I think everything is in order and I don't find the testimony to the contrary credible."

Councilman Matthew Dean added that he was confident that, if the doctors did not comply, then neighbors would complain and the case would appear before city council again.

The final item on the agenda was less contested. By a 4-1 vote, the council denied an application by Raymond Zhao on behalf of Scandinavian Concepts to install an expressway-oriented sign on his store in Riverside Plaza Shopping Center.

Zhao said the store has earned only a third of the revenue of his San Bruno store. He blamed the ambiguity of the building, saying customers are unable to find his store.

Council agreed the store was not clearly identifiable, but said it is unlikely this has a significant effect upon its business.

"Normally, if you are going to buy furniture, I think you don't just go because you see a sign," Furtado said.

Some council members also expressed worry that allowing expressway signs at that location would be detrimental to the appearance of the area.

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