Two new housing developments could be coming to Brea near Imperial Highway and the 57 Freeway.
On Tuesday, Brea City Council members are slated to consider the two separate housing proposals after city planning commissioners voted 3-0 and 4-0 to move the projects along earlier this month.
In total, the proposals could bring just under 300 new housing units to the city, from single-family homes, to studio and two-bedroom apartments.
Just six of these units will be designated as affordable housing, while concerns such as a shortage of parking spaces, electrical grid demand and environmental impacts on future residents were raised during the Planning Commission hearing earlier this month.
The Brea Plaza Living development, which will be developed by Orange based Architects of Orange, would include 120 units in a four-story building set on top of a two level parking garage.
According to the staff report, the building is planned to reach a height of just over 64 feet, four feet above the city’s height limit. The project also includes 148 planned parking spaces, 96 spaces short of current zoning standards.
During the March 11 Planning Commission meeting, some residents from nearby communities took to public comments to voice their concerns regarding the development.
“I think [the developers] are very naive to think that they only need 148 total spaces for the apartment building,” Brea resident Carolyn Dail said. “Californians are known for having cars.”
Dale also noted that the Avalon at Brea place in Downtown Brea faced shortages with parking that resulted in having to use a nearby shopping center’s parking lot for guest parking.
However, some residents said that the increases in traffic could mean an increase in customers to local businesses.
“We need traffic, we’re here to grow our business. People are buying online. We’re brick and mortar, without brick and mortar, these buildings are empty,” Brea resident and owner of Custom Comfort Mattress Roland Trudell said.
According to a study released by the city, a total of 789 parking spaces will also be added onto the Brea Plaza shopping center as a result of the new development. Though this is also short of the 1,019 spaces currently required by zoning code standards.
Nonetheless, Brea city planners say they anticipate the planned parking will be able to handle the demand.
“As detailed in the parking demand study, the total parking being provided by the shopping center as a whole is anticipated to be sufficient to handle the peak parking demand, including holiday peak,” Brea City Planner Joanne Hwang and Senior Planner Rebecca Pennington said in an email.
The nearby Greenbriar development, now dubbed the Village at Greenbriar, proposes the construction of just under 180 single-family homes.
It too currently proposes less parking spaces than current zoning standards. With a total of 397 spaces planned, the proposal is 51 spots short of current city regulations.
The Villages at Greenbriar faces similar criticisms regarding parking, as Donini had previously stated the proposal’s 397 allocated parking spaces, which are 51 spaces short of current zoning requirements, is “problematic.”
In an email, Hwang and Senior Planner Jessica Newton said, Lennar Homes, the developer of the Villages at Greenbriar, will be required to update their plans for parking to comply with current standards or obtain a Conditional Use Permit should they plan for less than what is mandated.
Representatives from Lennar Homes and Architects of Orange didn’t respond to questions about their respective proposals.
The Brea Plaza Living proposal was approved by the Planning Commission by a 3-0 vote, as Commissioner Tom Donini abstained while Commissioner Ted Gribble recused himself due to personal conflicts.
Regarding the Village at Greenbriar, the commission voted 4-0 to push the project forward to the city council, this time with Donini recusing himself from the vote due to his previous city council campaign receiving donations from the property owner in the last election cycle.
The Greenbriar development notably would be constructed on what is currently an office park owned by Mercury Insurance, requiring the demolition of a 165,000 office building and parking structure.
The Brea Plaza Living development proposes to demolish an existing 7,500 square-foot restaurant building currently occupied by Buca di Beppo and replace it with a smaller 5,000 square-foot building to accommodate a restaurant.
Though the proposed developments at Brea Plaza and Greenbriar will be moving forward to the city council, questions still remain as to whether or not they will provide adequate affordable housing.
Brea Plaza proposes just six affordable units, while the developer of the Villages at Greenbriar plan wants to allocate their proposals to a separate development in Brea at Mercury Lane and Berry Street.