Town Center escrow deadline moved to March 31; Original Pancake House ordered out by March 15

A key deadline in Yorba Linda's long-awaited Town Center project – the “outside” date to close escrow on the sale of city-owned properties to developer Zelman Retail Partners – has been pushed back another six months, to March 31, 2016.

The new date includes “a permissible 90-day extension request, if deemed necessary, upon payment of a $50,000 extension deposit,” states a report by Pam Stoker, the city's economic development manager.

Previous delays were due to “changes to the scope and boundaries” of the project, while the latest involves “required conditions to close and protect the interests of both Zelman and the city,” Stoker notes.

They include securing tenant leases, obtaining financing, working with architects to prepare detailed construction plans and acquiring permits for site work, construction and utilities.

The amended agreement also states the council sent owners of the long-popular Pancake House notice to vacate the premises by March 15, 2016. Another report, presented to the Planning Commission last month, notes the building “is proposed to remain” in the project.

That report from principal planner Dave Brantley says “renovation plans have not been formulated at this stage” for the building, but the space “likely will be occupied by a sit-down type of restaurant.”

Brantley notes, “the future design of building renovations will need to be tailored to the specific restaurant operator's needs.” Once a new tenant is identified, changes will require approval “to ensure that the future re-design...is architecturally integrated into the center.”

The nearby two-story ERA real estate building, owned by Walt and Jean Tamulinas, is not part of the project area and is permitted “to continue to operate as it currently exists.”

But, if the owners want to expand or modify the building in the future, the plan “would be subject to design review approval and would be required to be integrated into the overall architectural theme of the center,” Brantley reports.

Interestingly, an “economic expansion or growth” portion of an environmental impact report states: “Given the project's relatively small size in relation to the city population and work force, the economic contribution of this project alone would not be considered significant.”

While the project will provide short-term construction jobs, it's anticipated these employees would commute from elsewhere and not relocate to the city for a temporary assignment.

However, long-term full and part-time employment would be generated, and given the city's 2.9 percent unemployment rate – about 1,000 individuals – “some of the employment opportunities associated with the project would be filled by current residents of the city.”

And “any small increase in persons commuting from outside the area or potentially relocating to the area may result in a corresponding slight increase in demand for city goods and services.”