Just within the last couple of days, a crew has been on the lot at the northeast corner of Carbon Canyon Road and Canyon Hills Drive on the Chino Hills side of the Canyon removing an old concrete pad and grading the property for a 5,000+ square foot project consisting of a Circle K convenience store and office space (including, it is said, a dry cleaners?)
This photo was taken this morning of the work being done there. As to what this project means to the transformation of the Canyon, one need only peruse the previous post and accmpanying comments from a month or so ago. A brief mention also appeared recently in the Chino Hills Champion, though apparently there'll be a more substantive piece in that paper very soon.
Presumably, construction will be completed over the next several months and there'll probably be a late summer/early fall grand opening? One can only wonder if a traffic light (money contributed in part by the developer of the Stonefield housing project slated for the northeast corner of Carbon Canyon Road and Fairway Drive) in the horizon, as well. In light of the increased delays that are very noticeable around 8 a.m. because of the beginning of the school day at Olinda School in Brea, where the Olinda Village traffic signal has been operational for the last few months, we will see what the future portends as the Canyon becomes more like the suburban landscape around it and less like itself.
4 comments:
Wow! This is the first I have heard of this. Has the city been hiding it from the residents of the canyon? I read, mayor/councilman, Ed Graham's column in the Butterfield Stageline every month and this project hasn't been mentioned in his columns. Does this project comply with the Rural Heritage Initiative that many of us residents worked so hard to pass several years ago? I have lived in this beautiful canyon for 23 years and I can't imagine a Circle K in the canyon. What is next? Wal Mart?
Hi Susan, thanks for visiting and leaving your comment.
Well, as I said on an earlier post about this project, there was mention of approval by the Planning Commission in the Chino Hills Champion a couple of years ago and so the city hasn't hidden the project—it's been more focused on big commercial development like the Shoppes and the Commons. The lot has been zoned commercial (one of only three such in the Canyon that I know of, the others being the Canyon Market in Sleepy Hollow and the Western Hills golf course.) Still, I agree that this is out of place in the Canyon, though there was a comment of approval on the earlier post. As to what is next, I'd be more inclined to suspect a Starbuck's or something smaller like that!
This is a bummer. I suppose that's about all I have to say!
I love your blog, and will be here often now that I have discovered it!
Hi Craig, I left a reply to your other comment on the St. Joseph's Hill of Hope post. On this, yes, it is a bummer, but only one example of more undesirable changes to come in the Canyon.
Incidentally, there have been statements made that a traffic signal is imminent at that intersection of Carbon Canyon Road and Canyon Hills Road. A recent Chino Hills Champion article noted that the developer of the Circle K asked for an extension on a required "fair share" assessment to help pay for the light, so that he could seek financing.
In addition, the developer of Stonefield, up the road at Fairway Drive and CC Rd, is also being asked to pay fees towards this signal and another at Canon Lane. So, these won't be installed any time soon, but are coming someday.
More to celebrate in the gradual reconfiguration of the Canyon to just another part of suburban sprawl that many of his moved in the Canyon to avoid!
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