West Covina council approves conceptual design for Fire Station 1, directs cost and environmental review

The West Covina City Council on Oct. 7 approved a conceptual design for a new Fire Station 1 adjacent to the city library and the Tenth Freeway and directed staff to complete a cost analysis and required environmental review before final construction plans are prepared.

The action follows a presentation by PBK architect Bruce, who showed a four–apparatus bay station with living quarters, room for future city emergency operations functions and expanded public parking. Council members debated location feasibility, environmental review and construction cost estimates before voting 5-0 to approve the concept and move the project into detailed planning and permit steps.

The conceptual site plan locates the station at the corner of West Covina Parkway and Garvey, next to the library. Bruce, PBK architect, described a layout with four apparatus bays in a double-deep arrangement, ten firefighter sleeping berths in the living quarters and a south-side footprint reserved for future emergency operations center and administrative space. He said, “we're now tracking about 25,000,000,” when asked for a high‑level construction estimate.

Acting City Manager Mylan Macrick told the council that a new Station 1 is urgent because the department is operating from a temporary trailer. “We do need to build Fire Station 1. Yes. We're living in a temporary trailer right now which is unacceptable,” Macrick said during the discussion.

Councilmember Gutierrez pressed staff on process questions before final design: he asked whether the city has performed a full cost comparison of possible sites, whether CEQA review has started and whether Caltrans or other agencies had been consulted about access at the nearby freeway ramp. Staff confirmed CEQA and external agency outreach had not yet been completed and said those steps would occur during design and permit work. Acting City Manager Macrick and staff said the conceptual design could be adapted to other sites if the council later chose a different location.

Finance staff told the council that the city has allocated $885,000 in ARPA funds for the conceptual design phase. Councilmembers and staff agreed the next steps would include a detailed cost analysis, CEQA documentation and outreach to Caltrans as appropriate before the council is asked to approve final construction documents.

The council motion to approve the conceptual design and authorize staff to proceed with detailed design, CEQA review and cost analysis was moved by Councilman Contos and seconded by Councilmember Gutierrez. The roll-call vote was Contos — aye; Diaz — aye; Gutierrez — aye; Mayor Pro Tem Lopez Villalto — aye; Mayor Wu — aye. The motion carried 5-0.

Council and staff said they will return with detailed cost estimates, environmental review findings and recommended funding/phase options before authorizing construction, and they noted the project will require further permitting and coordination with regional agencies.

The city’s next steps are to complete the studies and return to the council with construction drawings and recommended funding and phasing. PBK’s schematic renderings will be used for those studies and for public outreach during the environmental review phase.