Del Taco project problems continue

Del Taco wants to save its unworkable 24 hour drive-thru with an unworkable 21 hour drive thru!!

Less than 24 hours after an overwhelming neighborhood crowd decried plans for a 24 hour drive thru at the Shell Station on the corner of Abbeyfield and Bellflower, Adam Fisher of Centerra Retail Group sent an email blast to emails of residents he collected at the meeting.  The email offered a compromise on the 24 hour drive-thru-21 hours!!!

The Fisher email blast began with " Dear Neighbors"  and continued with that they wanted to be "respectful neighbors".  Mr. Fisher wrote that they wanted to "revise their application for the 24 hour store to be more consistent to other quick service restaurants in the immediate vicinity"

Like the site map released the pervious day, this email too was full of  problems.

Aside from never using the word "fast food", Mr . Fisher also does not state what the new revised proposal is for the required CUP.

One person who received the email replied asking about the new hours and Mr. Fisher replied on his iPhone: "They'd like to be open from 5 am to 2 am".

That's right to be good neighbors on a residential street- Del Taco wants to be open 21 hours not 24 hours!

Trying to save the drive-thru CUP by giving up 3 hours has sent shock waves through the local social media all day.

Other problems with the email are its reference to being " more consistent"  with the other Los Altos fast food options.

The two other fast food restaurants in the "immediate vicinity" are the Mc Donald's at Bellflower and 23rd and the Wendy's at Stearns and Bellflower.

The Los Altos McDonalds is only directly street accessible from Bellflower-not 23rd Street. The drive-thru closes at 12 midnight Sunday-Thursday and at 1 am on Friday and Saturday.  It does not impact any residential area.

The Los Altos Wendy's is accessible from both the main streets Bellflower and Stearns- it too does not impact residential areas.  It is open from 9am-2 am seven days a week.

From the beginning, the Del Taco project has had a problem with the location.  Trying to fit both the required parking and the required length of the drive-thru lane required reworked plans by the city.  

The original city planner who denied the original plans left his job with the city.  Since his departure, the new planner has given the green light to a plan that people in the  neighborhood can easily see has numerous problems.

The current drive-thru lane (which must be approves by a CUP) completely closes off direct access to the project from the main street -Bellflower.  The only street access is from the regular sized residential street Abbeyfield.   That street is the only traffic light controlled exit and entrance from the neighborhood onto Bellflower-which is used to get from the neighborhood left onto the main street.

The proposed entrance to the site from Abbeyfield feeds directly into the drive-thru. The site map shows 4 car lengths to the speaker from the driveway entrance at Abbeyfield. More than 4 cars backed up waiting to order will block the street -the entrance to the neighborhood.

In addition, the bedrooms of single family homes are close to the drive-thru area, Just a few years ago the LB Planning Commission required the CUP of Taco Beach to close their Patio at 8pm because of the proximity to the homes and required the front door to be closed. The California ABC also included the restrictions in the ABC License.  The patio is directly across from the drive thru and the front door from the ordering speaker.

The Centerra Retail Group is also working on the new retail space at Ximeno and PCH.  Click on CRG

Neighborhood leaders have organized a demonstration on Saturday April 30th at 12 noon on the corner of Abbeyfield and Bellflower.

Planning is underway to appeal any unfavorable decision to the City Council.

Bellflower Shell station owner still owns property

At the April 26th neighborhood  meeting, on the proposed Del Taco, one of the questions put to Mr. Fisher was -"Who owned the property?" . He refused to answer.

Public records show that Jacques Hattouni bought the property from ConocoPhillips in 2008 for $1.1 million and is the owner/operator of the Bellflower Shell. 

According to public records, Mr. Hattouni still owns the property.

Public records also show that in August of 2014, Mr. Hattouni was fined by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for violation of Rule 461.  That rule  required that by April 1,  2009:  "underground storage tanks be equipped with a certified Phase II Enhanced Vapor Recovery system"

For more information Click on

VIOLATION RECORD ( see pages 4 of 6 in sec 2) 

and RULE 461