By Jason Islas
Staff Writer

March 5, 2012 -- More than 80 Santa Monica residents crammed into the small Douglas Park Club House Thursday to air their concerns about a proposed Fresh & Easy Market in the Mid City Neighborhood.

Among residents' chief concerns -- parking. The plan to open the new market at the site of the former Magnolia Audio Video store on Wilshire Boulevard and Harvard Street proposes 38 on-site parking spaces, which is short of the 50 required by the City.

Fresh & Easy officials said the store would lease 17 off-site parking spaces – five at 2811 Wilshire Boulevard and 12 at 3201 Wilshire Boulevard – that would be reserved for employees, freeing up the on-site parking for customers.

And the chain's Regional Director of Real Estate, Linda Haynes, emphasized that Fresh & Easy could be a boon to the community.

“We're trying to service every single type of customer,” Haynes told the crowd. She also emphasized that it could be a benefit to the neighborhood to have an affordable grocery store within walking distance.

But many residents were not convinced.

“I'm not sure this is the best location,” said one Mid City resident, who added that she welcomed the idea of having a Fresh & Easy store in Santa Monica but wished the company would consider other locations.

Many residents worried that the presence of a grocery store like Fresh & Easy would force residents to struggle even harder to find parking in their own neighborhood.

“Off-site parking is not what we consider acceptable,” said one resident, adding that she feared it would lead to having to institute more permit parking in the neighborhood.

When she called the plan "irresponsible," the audience applauded.

As part of the store's policy, Haynes said, employees will be offered discounts for bus passes, as well as access to showers and additional secure bike racks.

But parking wasn't the only problem residents were concerned about.

Fresh & Easy wants to accommodate one delivery truck between 6 and 7 a.m. and as many as five more trucks from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the project summary handed out at the meeting.

William Dawson, a broker associate with Sullivan-Dituri Co., which manages several apartment buildings in the immediate area, said delivery trucks that early in the morning would create a major noise problem for residents living in nearby buildings.

Even if the trucks aren't allowed to deliver before a certain time, Dawson added, there is nothing to stop them from getting there early and waiting until they are allowed to make the delivery.

Dawson said that this is already the practice at nearby Whole Foods, causing a major headache when delivery trucks double-park in the morning while waiting until they can deliver their cargo.

“We're looking out for the quality of life for the residents there,” he said.

Haynes emphasized that Fresh & Easy will be a much smaller operation and would not require as many deliveries a day.

Fresh & Easy is also seeking a conditional use permit that would allow the store to sell alcohol. That didn't sit well with some residents who worried liquor sales could attract the wrong crowd to the neighborhood, especially if the store is able to sell alcohol until their proposed closing time, 11 p.m.

Haynes tried to reassure residents that Fresh & Easy does not allow the sale of single bottles of beer, nor does it allow drinking alcohol on the premises.

“No one is going to be able to buy alcohol and then get drunk in front of the store,” she said.

The community process is far from over, though, as the project is in its very preliminary stages.

The proposed project will likely go before the Planning Commission over the summer where questions such operating hours, delivery hours and alcohol sales will be addressed.

In the meantime, City staff said that they are open to community input.