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Council advances rezoning request for vacant Forum building at 8096 Agora Parkway to allow medical and service uses
Summary
After a public hearing, Universal City council approved a rezoning request to change 8096 Agora Parkway from C-2 retail to C-3 commercial services to allow medical offices and similar non‑retail uses; second reading set for Sept. 16.
The Universal City Council on Tuesday voted to rezone 8096 Agora Parkway — the former Hearthstone building in the Forum shopping center — from C-2 retail to C-3 commercial services, allowing medical offices and personal-service businesses to occupy the long-vacant space. Council approved the ordinance on first reading; a second reading and final vote are scheduled for Sept. 16.
Planning staff noted the site sits at the Universal City edge of the Forum and has been difficult to lease because of access constraints and its back-facing orientation toward the 1604 frontage road. “This building has been sitting vacant — a portion of it since 2017 and then a portion of it since 2019,” attorney Ashley Fairmont, representing ownership and management, told the council during the public hearing. Fairmont said brokerage outreach produced interest from medical and fitness users that are not permitted in the C-2 district.
Staff said the petitioner provided a leasing outreach spreadsheet documenting attempted retail prospects and argued rezoning to C-3 would align Universal City’s classification with neighboring Selma and Live Oak, where similar units allow both retail and commercial services. The petitioner said the owner will continue to market the building for retail but wants the option to lease to medical and professional-office users that generate foot traffic and complement the broader shopping center.
No members of the public spoke in opposition during the public hearing. Council members who addressed the item said they had supported the same request when it was previously proposed in 2019 and that the commercial landscape had changed during the intervening years; one council member said COVID-era market shifts contributed to the vacancy. Council approved the rezoning ordinance on first reading and scheduled the second reading for Sept. 16 as required by the ordinance process.
The rezoning, if adopted on second reading, would allow tenants such as dental and medical offices and personal services that previously were excluded under the C-2 retail designation. Staff and the applicant said the owner’s brokerage and outreach materials are included in the planning packet documenting efforts to secure retail tenants prior to requesting the zone change.
