Planning Commission defers site plan for 5130 Murfreesboro Road after egress and sidewalk concerns

The La Verne Planning Commission on Oct. 28 deferred action on a site-plan application for a proposed 4,210-square-foot building at 5130 Murfreesboro Road after staff and the fire marshal said the plan needs changes before approval.

Planning staff said the project — formerly a car wash and now subdivided into two lots — first came before the commission in March 2022 and again in August 2024. The application covers the southeast lot and shows a building footprint of roughly 4,210 square feet with parking arranged around the structure.

Marshall, the fire marshal, told the commission an additional egress door will be required and an exit cannot pass through a restroom. "An egress door is going to be required, will be required, and it will not be able to go through the existing restroom," he said. Staff and the applicant agreed any egress must be a standalone doorway located to meet fire-code distance requirements.

Applicant Jeff Rhodes of Rhodes Engineering confirmed the applicant intends to provide a back door but said it should not route through the restroom. Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant about the preferred location for that door and whether a side or rear corner door would meet code.

Commissioners also questioned a short sidewalk segment near Murfreesboro Road that appears to jog away from the roadway. Staff said the sidewalk alignment reflects site constraints, specifically a detention pond and the surveyed edge of the asphalt, which shifts about four feet in that area. Staff said the sidewalk was placed to follow the edge of the asphalt and that the detention configuration contributed to the jog.

Given the required egress change and the sidewalk/detention alignment issue, a commissioner moved and the commission seconded to defer the item to a workshop so the applicant can revise plans. The motion passed.

The commission did not approve the site plan and directed the applicant to return with revised drawings addressing the fire-marshals' egress requirement and a more uniform sidewalk/detention configuration.