Inviting Kaiser Permanente to build a medical office building at Lassen Street and Mason Avenue so far sounds like a good idea to the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council Land Use Committee.
Its members agreed unanimously Thursday to conceptually favor the proposed development, but a vote on the actual project design will be held at a future meeting.
In the meantime, Kaiser representatives still have to purchase the lot at 9733-9835 Mason Ave. and are garnering feedback from the community.
With a few specifications and rough drawings, here's a look at the potential scope of the
- 83,000 square feet, two-story Spanish colonial design building.
- 468 surface parking spaces.
- No urgent care.
- Scheduled appointments with 57 provider offices including pediatrics, family medicine, OBGYN, dermatology, cardiology, pharmacy and more.
- Exercise path built around the building.
One element Kaiser has yet to inspect is effects on traffic, which was a concern raised by resident Joellen Murata, a moderator at Congregational Church of Chatsworth, located across the street from the proposed project site.
She said the church once tried to build a charter school for 300 students, but plans were abandoned when the city asked the organization to pay for lane widening to accommodate the traffic increase.
With 468 spaces, Murata said she wonders if Kaiser would face a similar request.
Gail Night, chief administrative officer with the healthcare provider, said a traffic study will be conducted in the coming weeks and added her two cents on how the traffic situation might pan out.
"There’s no urgent care, there’s no emergency room, these are planned appointments so the traffic would be evenly spaced throughout the day," she said.
The current tenants at the proposed site for the project are leasing month to month, according to Kaiser.
Some committee members said they'd rather move forward with Kaiser than pass on the project and have another developer purchase the property with intentions of constructing something that could have a bigger impact on the neighborhood.
"It's going to be low-density compared to some other possibilities," said board member Jelena Csanyi.
Night said Kaiser reps will make appearances at upcoming Chatsworth events like the "Ride the Colt" bike rally on June 9 to collect feedback from the community.
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