by Timothy Rutt
One of Altadena’s anti-Walmart groups is pushing for a moratorium on development along the Lake Avenue business district until new community standards are in place.
Members of Neighbors Building a Better Alltadena spoke at the Altadena Town Council meeting Tuesday, urging that development along Lake Avenue be put under a temporary moratorium until Altadena’s community standards are updated. There is a town council committee that is currently meeting to update the 1986-era standards that govern residential and commercial development in Altadena.
Another anti-Walmart group, SaveAltadena, presented a petition to the county Board of Supervisors asking for a moratorium on large chain stores countywide. The supervisors, not wanting to put a countywide ban in place, sent it back to the Town Council to take the temperature of the community about whether there should be a ban on large development in Altadena. Council chair Bernardean Broadus said that the council will take comments at the Jan.15 meeting, the next Land Use Committee meeting on Feb. 5, and the next town council meeting Feb. 19.
NBBA, however, is only asking for a restricton on the Lake Avenue business district. Citing the change of ownership of the old Blockbuster building, the rumored sale of the Webster complex, and the empty lot at Lake Avenue and Calavaras Street that is now being reviewed for potential development, NBBA speakers said that they opposed large scale development on the Lake Avenue corridor while the community standards are being reviewed.
“NBBA wants to support the Community Standards Committee's research and community outreach,” it said in a Jan. 14 email to members. “We strongly support a temporary halt to large commercial development on Lake Avenue until the Community Standards Committee completes its work and makes its recommendations for updating the 1986 guidelines to the Town Council. The Council will ratify those recommendations and forward them to the County Board of Supervisors.”
NBBA, which has taken a stand against the Walmart Neighborhood Market now under construction at Lincoln Avenue and Figueroa Street, has also expressed concern about rumors that Walmart is looking at the Lake/Calavaras location for a second Neighborhood Market.
