Builder Seeks OK to Alter Retail Plan

The Simi Valley Planning Commission tonight will consider a proposal for a retail building at the northeast corner of Tapo and Alpine streets instead of the restaurant it approved for that site nearly a year ago.

Property owner and developer Westwood Financial originally planned to build a 7,500-square-foot restaurant at that location, but the firm could not find a suitable tenant, Westwood Financial attorney John Williamson said.

“Unfortunately, it isn’t economically feasible. . . . Any time there’s hard times, the first thing you can cut out of your budget is going out to eat,” Williamson said. “Restaurants tend to be very reflective of economic turndowns.”

But Westwood Financial has been able to find a few tenants for its proposed 9,000-square-foot retail building, Williamson said.

On May 23, 1990, Westwood Financial presented two proposals for the site to the Planning Commission--the retail building and the restaurant, City Planning Manager Wolf Ascher said.

The commission at that time voted 3 to 1 in favor of the restaurant, with one member abstaining. The permit specifically prohibited retail use as an alternative, Ascher said.