SHOPPING CENTER PLANS TWEAKED BY LANCASTER PANEL MALL PARKING LOT NEEDS BETTER LOOK.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- A proposed shopping center intended to be a ``destination'' for residents needs a strong connection with neighboring City Park and a reasonably attractive parking lot, according to Lancaster's planning commissioners.

After hearing public input and reviewing several design concepts for a shopping center at 10th Street West north of Avenue L, commissioners said they are interested in one that features an east-west ``main street'' layout that intersects with a north-south path of stores.

Commissioners said they wanted to see some alterations, including making it easier for people to travel to the park and breaking up a large parking lot on 10th Street West intended to serve a large retail store.

``We don't want people walking through a parking lot to get where they want to go,'' said Commissioner Bruce MacPherson. ``We should create a little neighborhood instead of a parking lot with buildings on it.''

The city and a consulting firm, RTKL Associates, are working to create a shopping center on about 150 acres bounded roughly by avenues K-8 and L and by Fifth and 10th streets west. City officials are trying come up with a design concept that will serve as the basis for an environmental impact report and a specific plan -- a planning guideline for the property.

The city planning staff and RTKL came up with a recommended design option they referred to as Option 2B featuring the intersecting travel paths. The commissioners called that option a good starting point but are seeking alterations they believe will enhance the pedestrian aspect of the center and help make the eastern portion of the site more attractive for both shops and shoppers.

A special meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday at Lancaster City Hall, 44933 Fern Ave., to consider a revised design.

The 2B concept features a mix of pedestrian and auto-oriented shopping elements. The east-west main street is geared toward strolling shoppers and features a central plaza that would be a community gathering spot.

The street would have a larger tenant of about 75,000 square feet at the eastern end.

The north-south travel path features a large tenant at the southern end that would be more auto traffic oriented.

In all, the design concept features about 775,000 square feet of shopping.

The concept allows for the center to be developed in phases and expanded at a later date, said Brian Ludicke, the city's director of community development.

``We think flexibility is an important factor in the design, expandability is an important part of the design,'' Ludicke said.

The 2B design concept, however, does have some trade-offs, including the large parking area to serve the major tenant at the southern end; no easy connection with City Park; and no apparent solution for keep the Amargosa dry creek bed in a natural state, something that had been sought by trails advocates and those concerned about the elimination of an area of potential groundwater recharge.

Planning commissioners suggested that additional shops could be placed on the western portion of the site that would guide shoppers into the pedestrian-oriented areas of the center. They also suggested re-positioning the large tenant at the eastern end of the main street to open up the northeast portion of the site.

james.skeen@dailynews

[phone]