San Gabriel : Hotel Foes Win Round

In a victory for opponents of a hotel complex planned on the site of the former Edwards Drive-In Theater, the city has ordered a new environmental impact report for the project.

The report will study environmental effects that “were not addressed in sufficient detail” previously, according to the city’s planning director. A group of opponents, Citizens for Responsible Development, filed a lawsuit last August to ensure just such an action.

The new report was required because developer George Chen chose to build a supermarket rather than a department store as originally planned, said Planning Director Dennis Mackay. The 11.5-acre project would also include a hotel and restaurants.

The report, expected in about two months, must consider how the development would affect police and fire service as well as noise levels, traffic and the geology of the area, Mackay said.

Greg O’Sullivan, chairman of the citizens group, said it will not drop its lawsuit. “There’s nothing that says the city can’t renege on its commitment,” he said. “We’ll probably continue to go through court procedures so (the revised report) becomes a legal action.”