By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — Long-rumored plans to tear down a portion of the Alpine Creek Shopping Center were unveiled at last Thursday’s meeting of the Alpine Planning Group.
     Tom Adam, of Nadel Architects, Inc., presented the plans for the demolition of two buildings and construction of a new Longs drug store on the site. Nadel was hired by Westcore Properties and Longs to work on this project.
The two buildings slated to be demolished are located at the east end of the center, on the corner of Tavern Road and Arnold Way. These buildings currently house Radio Shack, East County Medical Supply, the Alpine Library Friends Association bookstore, Williams Jewelers, Postal Annex, Curves for Women, Alpine Massage Therapy, Head East Salon and the Alpine Physical Therapy & Wellness Center. Daniel’s Market, and the rest of the complex to the east, is not on the block.
     “What we’re proposing to do is take away approximately 17,000 square feet and put in a Longs that is about 15,700 square feet,” Adam said. The company also plans an overall clean-up of the property.
When the Alpine Creek Center was sold to Westcore Properties in October 2004, rumors flew around town about the fate of the tenants. Some said that everyone was going to be evicted so that condos could be built. Others said that businesses would be pushed out by rising rents.
     This new proposal is less obtrusive to most of the tenants at Alpine Creek, though residents in attendance at the the APG meeting questioned what would happen to the tenants from the eastern buildings.
     “What happens to the tenants that are there now?” asked one woman in the audience. “Is there going to be room for everyone who wants to stay?”
     According to Adam, all of the current businesses will be accommodated. “It’s not my understanding that any of the tenants will be kicked out,” he said.
     “Some may get moved to other areas of the center, but as far as I understand, there will be room for everybody who wants to stay,” Adam said.
     Part of the project will also be to revamp the 25-year-old building and upgrade the property. Thirty-eight new parking spaces will be added, but, according to Adam, the company is trying to maintain much of the green space and water features that are present now.
     “My concern is empty buildings,” said APG member Larry Urdahl. The new Longs will be directly across the street from Rite Aid, and the new Albertson’s project will eventually house a Sav-On Drugs.
     “I personally don’t see how Alpine can support three big chain drug stores,” Urdahl said.
According to Adam, Longs has conducted market studies of the area and these show that the Alpine community would be able to support another drug store.
     The planning group did not vote on the project at Thursday’s meeting. According to APG Chairman Jim Mowry, after a meeting with Supervisor Dianne Jacob, all local projects will now start out by going through the Alpine Design Review board and APG before they go to the county planners.

County back-peddles on proposed densities
     During a presentation regarding road networks at the April 27 meeting, county planners proposed changing some of the land use designations to accommodate traffic deficiencies. Many of the increased densities, approved just last year were questioned, and even contested, by area residents at the time.
     According to county planner Bob Citrano, in order to deal with possible future problems on local roads, the county may need to re-address some of the housing densities assigned under GP 2020, the county’s general plan update.
“We’ve run all these models, with various different roads and connections, but we’re still seeing too much traffic on many Alpine problem roads,” Citrano said. “Now, we may need to go back and change some of the land use designations on some properties.”
     The model used for the current traffic studies included the densities that appear on the June 2005 draft county map. Citrano’s proposal is to reduce some of the previously changed densities back to what they originally were.
“We’re not looking at reducing densities to anything lower than the existing general plan,” he said. “This is just one way we can address some of these traffic problems.”
     Traffic estimates are generated based on the expected average daily trips to any particular designation. For instance, according to county numbers, a property designated C-1 general commercial is expected to generate 694 average daily trips per acre, as compared with I-1 low impact industrial, which generates 178 ADTs.
     In all, 20 different properties have been looked at for a change in designation. Some are commercial/ industrial, and others are residential, in which the level of density would be reduced. The changes in density would result in an expected 27,579 fewer ADTs on local roads.
     Citrano said that he hopes to model the new traffic study with lowered densities in the next few weeks, so that he can bring the results back to the APG at its May meeting. He said he hopes to get a vote from the planning group at that time so that he can take the results to the county board of supervisors for a vote at the beginning of June.

APG vacancy
     Also at Thursday’s meeting, Mowry officially announced a vacancy on the board left by the departure of Cheryl Lenz.
     Those interested in becoming a member of the APG are requested to inform Mowry, who may reached via e-mail at jjmowry@cox.net. They will then present themselves, either in person or via letter to the APG, at the May 25 meeting at 6:30 p.m., Each will have five minutes to discuss his qualifications.
     Applicants must reside in the Alpine planning area to be eligible for election to the APG. Each candidate must provide his full name and the address at which he is registered to vote, his occupation; any financial interest in real estate in Alpine other than a home; financial interest in any Alpine business firm, if any.
     Though the group’s standing rules are currently being reviewed by the coordinating committee and the county, the rules as they presently exist on the APG website  will be observed in choosing a new member for the group, Mowry said.
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