Station Park Green, a mixed-use development near Hayward Park Caltrain station where a Kmart now sits, has just finished design guidelines review by the Planning Commission.

The design guidelines set the standards for the physical design of the residential, retail and office buildings, as well as that of the open spaces, pedestrian and bicycle ways, according to a staff report prepared by Lisa Ring, a senior planner for the city.

But at a Planning Commission meeting Tuesday Nov. 10, EBL&S Development’s Alan Talansky was asked to provide more detailed parking and circulation plans by Planning Commission Vice Chair Torin Knorr for Station Park Green’s nine blocks of buildings set on 12 acres.

Talansky, however, was under the impression the design guidelines review only touched on such topics as materials, landscaping, pavement and the aesthetics of the project.

Parking and pedestrian circulation would typically come under scrutiny during the site plan architectural review, or SPAR. But Knorr pressed the developer to supply more details on parking in future discussions on the project.

Knorr also asked the developer to supply architectural models of the project, saying some of the drawings were inadequate to show the scope of the project.

Knorr cited his experience on the commission when the Bay Meadows development was going through the planning process and said architectural models helped speed the process along.

The requests, however, won’t slow down the project, Talansky said, since there is no real financing in place for the $300 million project.

The project next faces a formal hearing on the design guidelines, specific plan and development agreement which will include amendments of some of the Planning Commission’s suggestions. In the next 30 days the city is expected to submit a negative declaration on the environmental impact report for the corridor plan, meaning the project conforms with the city’s desire for the space.

Station Park Green falls into the San Mateo Rail Corridor Plan as does a proposed office park on the south side of State Route 92 called the Hines project. Proposals are also expected to come in by the end of the year to redevelop the Concar Shopping Center, which houses the Ross and Rite Aid stores.

EBL&S Development plans to demolish the Kmart that currently sits on the site and construct a mixed-use development with two acres of parks, 10,000 square feet of office space and 65,000 square feet of retail space, including space for a new Michael’s store to replace the one currently on the property.

Up to 100,000 square feet of office space was originally proposed for the site but was reduced to lessen the traffic impact to the area.

The city expects Station Park Green and the surrounding developments to be a new gateway into the city since on-and-off ramps to State Route 92 sit at the intersection of Delaware Street and Concar Drive.

In previous public hearings on the proposal residents from the Sunnybrae, 19th Avenue/Park and Fiesta Gardens neighborhoods say it will bring too much traffic to the area with not enough parking.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.