By Clyde Noel

Town Crier Correspondent

The Los Altos City Council is scheduled to decide May 28 whether the Walgreens retail drug store proposed for 301 Second St. in downtown Los Altos should be allowed to take over the entire multiretail building. This would eliminate a restaurant and a computer store that city officials required in 1993 as part of the McWhorter’s project to encourage pedestrian traffic and discourage the creation of a big box retail store.

The national pharmacy chain plans to convert the defunct McWhorter’s stationery store site into Walgreens pharmacy, add a one-hour photo lab and keep the adjacent flower shop intact. The building would occupy 13,610 square feet.

Walgreens is in the city’s commercial retail sales zone and requires a use permit because it exceeds 3,500 square feet.

The planning commission approved the use permit application and is recommending that the city council approve the project.

City Manager Phil Rose is recommending the city council reject the project as proposed.

Rose wrote to the planning commission on May 1 asking commissioners to modify staff recommendations because the project, as presented, “does not enhance the unique village character of the district. The project is a step backward in terms of maintaining the village character,” he said.

Rose suggested continuing with smaller retail tenants. To maintain the village character, he said, there should be 25-foot storefronts, as required on Main and State streets. Rose’s recommendation requires the three tenants that currently front the building to stay. He contends that larger uses should be allowed on the CRS fringe, but the impact of their size should be minimized.

Members from both the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce and the Los Altos Village Association have expressed support for Walgreens’ plans.

“It is the belief of the chamber that requiring the property to continue with smaller retail tenant spaces is not judicious,” said chamber president Julie Rose, who is not related to Phil Rose.