Council Accepts Huntington Expansion Appeal

There's a new hiccup in the Huntington Library expansion project. A San Marino resident has filed an appeal.

According to a report by the San Marino Tribune, the City Council decided at its Jan. 9 meeting to accept the appeal. Now, the matter will be brought before a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 4.

The library, art collections and botanical gardens expansion project, which is proposed for approximately 26.8 acres of the 207-acre property, would include a new auditorium, classrooms and below-grade collections and starage area with a connecting tunnel to the basement of the Munger Research Center. The education and visitor center would replace a number of rooms, including the ticketing kiosk, café portion of the tea room building and restrooms.(See this Nov. 12 Patch article for a full list of renovations.)

The project would also require modifying the existing Historical and Cultural Zone Ordinance; a conditional use permit to allow redevelopment of facilities, parking, landscaping and other improvements within the existing entry complex area; and a conditional use permit to allow The Huntington to occasionally exceed maximum daily vehicle counts and standard operating hours a limited number of days per year, and to allow larger outdoor events with amplified sound to be conducted only in certain areas on the site.

At a November meeting the city's planning commision members passed a resolution reccommending the city council adopt an ordinance amending the municiple code. The revision would "clarify that buses shll be deemed equivalent to more than one vehicle for purposes of the 2,950 vehicle cap, with ratio to be determined by the City Council," the resolution says. (The entire Planning Commission Resolution is available on the city of San Marino website; On the homepage, scroll down to the Huntington Library Education and Visitor Center Project.)

The Feb. 4 public hearing is set to take place in the Barth Community Room at the Crowell Public Library, 1890 Huntington Drive.