Jeffries Road Apartment Complex Approval Goes Before Big Bear Lake Planning Commission Again; Public Hearing on June 2

Big Bear Lake, CA — Though no official action was taken on the proposed affordable apartment complex for Jeffries Road during last week’s Big Bear Lake Planning Commission meeting, the three of five Commissioners in attendance—VP Rich Lambert, Jim DeGroot and Craig Smith—did request project revisions from the developer National Core, Inc. Though the Planning Commission did move to continue the Public Hearing to their meeting of Wednesday, June 2, during which time the Conditional Use Permit will once again be considered, final contract approvals will still go before the City of Big Bear Lake’s City Council, which doubles as the Improvement Agency, the governing body that oversees the use of Redevelopment Funds which are designated for affordable workforce housing projects such as this. During the May 24 Council meeting, Jeffries Road neighbors contested many aspects of the project, slated to be built to the west of Big Bear Middle School. Of those concerns, the following revisions were issued to National Core by the Planning Commission during the May 26 meeting: save more trees, utilize less parking and move from the west side of almost three-acre parcel (which would otherwise back to Alpenhorn B&B), lower outdoor lighting to make it both dimmer and closer to ground, reduce apartment units from 59 to 53, construct sidewalk, curb and gutter from properties in Jeffries 500 block north to Big Bear Boulevard, and utilize a more mountain aesthetic in the architectural design. Despite all these revision requests forwarded by the Commission, others suggested by Council—including a reduction from three-stories to two, and conforming to the zoned 12 units per acre, making roughly 36 (rather than 53)—have not yet been incorporated into the apartment complex plan. Though, once again, the project goes before Council before moving forward, there will first be a continued Public Hearing item before the Planning Commission on June 2 at 1:15pm in Hofert Hall in the Big Bear Lake Civic Center.