DOWNEY, CA — A proposal to build 145 townhomes on the former Honda World service center property in Downey is headed back to the Planning Commission after commissioners voted to reconsider an earlier rejection. The 3-0 vote on Wednesday reversed the path toward a formal denial and instead reopened the application for another public hearing on Sept. 16.
The project, planned for 11136 Dollison Drive, covers 6.15 acres and would include 130 market-rate homes and 15 units for moderate-income households. The reconsideration came after city staff said they had received additional legal information, and after the developer and Honda World threatened litigation following the commission’s unanimous July 15 rejection of the plan.
What The Proposal Says
The commission was being asked to choose between two staff options after the earlier vote. Members Carrie Uva, Elias Saikaly and Gil Legaspi voted to reopen the matter, while Hector Lujan was absent and Mario Guerra recused himself from the reconsideration discussion.
The development would have 14 three-story buildings with two-, three- and four-bedroom townhomes. Staff materials describe a density of 26.8 units per acre and building heights of up to 37 feet, 6 inches. The plan also includes waivers from some development standards, including height and setback rules, and the western setback is shown as ranging from roughly 9 to 55 feet.
Under city standards, a three-story building next to an R-1 residential property normally needs a 46-foot rear setback. Nearby residents have objected to the project’s density, design, traffic and its proximity to single-family homes. The commission’s July hearing on the issue lasted about six and a half hours before members voted 5-0 to reject it.
Why It Came Back
The reconsideration was tied to what city staff described as additional legal information received after the July meeting. Guerra said in a written statement that commissioners had also faced “numerous litigation threats” after the earlier denial. The board chose not to finalize a denial Wednesday and instead set a new noticed hearing under state law and the Downey Municipal Code.
Guerra said he stepped aside after the developer suggested he was biased and after the litigation threats surfaced. In his statement, he said his opposition came from what he heard during the hearing and from the project as presented, not from any outside influence. He wrote that the proposal did not fit the neighborhood and that residents’ concerns were not being answered with meaningful changes.
He also said commissioners had asked whether the applicant could revise the plan to address traffic and neighborhood concerns, but they had not seen substantial changes. Guerra argued that Downey does need more housing, but said new housing still has to be appropriate for its surroundings and respectful of existing homes.
What Happens Next
The Sept. 16 hearing will give the commission another chance to review the site plan review, density bonus and tentative tract map tied to the project. The reconsideration does not approve the development; it simply gives commissioners a new chance to deliberate after the earlier denial was set aside.
For nearby homeowners, the practical stakes remain the same: whether a dense townhome project with taller buildings and reduced setbacks belongs next to single-family streets. The city will re-notice the hearing, and the public can watch for the updated agenda and hearing materials through Downey’s official planning and municipal code channels.
What happens next will depend on whether the applicant brings changes, whether commissioners view the legal and design issues differently, and whether the neighborhood objections shift once the project returns in September. Until then, the proposal remains under review rather than approved or denied.
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