7/ELEVEN ROLLS THE DICE AND CRAPS OUT TWICE IN BID FOR PARAMOUNT STORE
By Herald American
The Paramount City Council has upheld a decision by the Planning Commission to deny the request of a 7-Eleven convenience store to operate in a vacant 2,450-square-foot site at 14139 Downey Ave.—the northwest corner of Downey and Rosecrans avenues, across from Paramount High School.
Council members agreed with a Planning Commission ruling of Jan. 11 that such a use was incompatible with the permitted uses in the planned development/performance standards zone.
Community Development Director Joe Perez said the proposed store would be in a retail center with a laundromat, a dry cleaners and an auto insurance office. A 7-Eleven store is neither allowed or prohibited in such a zone, leaving it up to the Planning Commission on a case-by-case basis.
The intent of the zone is to create a light-industrial/commercial mix.
7-Eleven appealed the commission’s decision, saying the store would fit in such a zone.
Perez said city staff felt there was a great deal of pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area and a high demand for parking. The convenience store would require 36 spaces based on its size and only 27 are available. The convenience store would intensify traffic and parking problems in the area, he said.
