Council OKs occupancy for the new Toll House

By Nathan R. Huff

The newly remodeled Toll House Hotel will receive a temporary certificate of occupancy, giving the developer an extra seven months to finish street improvements required with the project approval.

The town council voted unanimously on Nov. 20, to approve a revised plan for the Toll House Hotel's public improvements, and to give the property owner until June 30, 2001, to complete the project. The temporary certificate of occupancy will expire at that time, if the improvements have not been completed.

As part of the revised plan, the town will accept $63,158 in lieu of improvements planned at the southern corners of Broadway/Montebello and S. Santa Cruz Avenue. To ensure consistency, the town will do the improvements itself as part of the Town Plaza renovation project planned for next year.

Before approving the revised plan, Councilman Randy Attaway said he felt somewhat hesitant approving the temporary certificate of occupancy, saying it amounted to a "gift to the developer." Toll House management had agreed to approximately $100,000 in street improvements, as part of the 1999 council approval of its $3 million renovation and expansion.

Toll House owner Wayne Levenfeld said the delay in streetscape improvements was due largely to the difficulties of converting the approved conceptual drawings into engineering plans. "When we got into converting the plans, a lot of questions arose that we had to work through with staff to agree on what should be done," he said. Levenfeld said the upcoming holiday shopping season also played a role in deciding to delay tearing up of S. Santa Cruz Avenue.

After finalizing the engineering plans, town staff made several modifications to the original streetscape plan. The town accepted the $63,000 to do its own improvements, a planter island was reduced in size to manage drainage concerns, and a crosswalk planned for S. Santa Cruz Avenue between Wood Road and Broadway was eliminated.

"In looking at that crosswalk, my personal belief was that it would create pedestrian safety issues," Parks and Public Works Director Larry Perlin said. He added that by eliminating the crosswalk and shifting and enlarging an adjoining planter island, the town would net itself an additional parking space.

The remodeled Toll House will have 25 new rooms, in addition to its existing 97. The majority of the added rooms will be on the new third floor. The building will also sport a new, Victorian-esque three-story facade.

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