Mall owner draws backlash in community

A Chinese real estate company that owns a shopping center in Southern California is trying to win back the local community after drawing a backlash for a proposed project.

LT Global Investment, a Los Angeles-based subsidiary of LT Commercial Real Estate Limited under China Lerthai Commercial Real Estate Group, purchased South Hills Plaza in West Covina in 2014.

The city's planning commission recently denied the company's proposal to renovate a 5,175-square-foot building at the plaza into a Dunkin' Donuts with a drive-through window and outdoor dining area.

The city had been in favor of the project initially but changed its stance in the face of opposition from the community, according to Wei Huang, a vice-president of LT Global.

The city's initial staff report said the proposed modification would "enhance the quality of the plaza" and "would not increase impacts to the neighborhood in terms of traffic, public health, or safety."

But in the resolution dated Jan 24, the planning commission denied the project, saying it would be "detrimental to the public interest" because the proposed location is a very short distance from another donut shop and traffic would be negatively impacted.

Planning commission chairman Dario Castellanos did not respond to a request for comment.

Huang said their lawyer found the reasons for the denial "weak" and has filed an appeal. A public hearing at the city council is scheduled for late next month.

West Covina's planning department said they have received about 5,000 signatures in opposition to the Dunkin' Donuts, and most of them share the same concern that the franchisee may put an existing donut shop - Rainbow Donuts - out of business.

Rainbow Donuts has been in business for 28 years and the Dunkin' Donuts building is within 50 feet, according to a Facebook posting by Rainbow.

At the planning commission's public hearing on Dec 13, dozens of residents spoke in support of the Rainbow Donuts, stressing the value of small businesses to the city.

"She (the owner of Rainbow Donuts) works seven days a week with a smile. She has orders ready even before the customers come in. You wouldn't have the same attention from a corporation," a resident named Gina told the commission.

The case has been in the spotlight since local media started reporting on it in April of last year. Huang admitted that they hadn't paid enough attention to the resistance.

The Chinese company hired a public relations agency the day they got the denial. Now they are reaching out to their potential supporters, including residents, tenants and landlords.

As more Chinese companies come to the US, they often meet hurdles more because of cultural differences and expectations, rather than language barriers, according to experts.

"In the US, there are interests even stronger than the government - zoning boards, community activists, adjacent land owners and tenants who can slow and even stop a project," write real estate attorneys Alan J. Pomerantz and Thomas M. Shoesmith in an article posted on the website of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com