Magnussen Toyota to build large auto center in Mountain View

Magnussen Toyota of Palo Alto, a longtime dealership and service center, is planning to relocate and redevelop a site for a new auto center less than half a mile away on Old Middlefield Road in Mountain View.

But it is facing significant opposition from a nearby residential community that is concerned the auto center will severely erode the quality of life in their neighborhood.

The city approved the development at an administrative zoning hearing on Dec. 18, although the decision could be appealed to the City Council by Jan. 2.

Magnussen Toyota is proposing to build a two-story auto dealership, service and repair facility on a 2.4-acre site at the corner of Old Middlefield Way and Independence Avenue, replacing a vacant auto service shop and an office building.

At nearly 40,000 square feet, the auto center will have a large showroom, offices and service, parts and inventory areas. The two-story building also will include rooftop parking for vehicles, making it one of the most prominent businesses in the area.

This is not the company’s first foray into Mountain View, according to Sandra Magnussen, of Magnussen Toyota who spoke at the hearing. The family-owned business opened a franchise in 2005 that operated until the pandemic, she said.

Magnussen described the redevelopment as a homecoming and community investment. “We believe that this will benefit Mountain View in many ways, (not) the least of which is gentrification and beautification of an area long in need of updating and upgrading,” she said.

More than a dozen people attending the hearing had a different perspective, however. Many said they lived in the Maravilla townhomes, a recently built residential community that abuts the project site from Rock Street.

In May, the Maravilla residents wrote a letter and started an online petition urging the city to impose more conditions on the project, if not rejecting it outright. Since then, the petition has received more than 200 signatures of support.

“The character of our neighborhood, our quality of life, our privacy and our property values will be compromised,” said one Maravilla resident at the Dec. 18 hearing.

Speaker after speaker stood up and expressed concerns about the air, noise and light pollution that would emanate from the auto center, as well as an increase in traffic vehicle deliveries.

For many, the mitigation measures that Magnussen Toyota had agreed to implement were not enough.

“We’ve made a number of requests and we were willing to work with the dealership, although only a handful and the easiest and tiniest ones of our requests were actually incorporated,” said Tanya Rodchenko, a Maravilla resident.

Several community members also expressed disappointment with the plan to remove 80 heritage trees on the site, including 61 small redwoods.

According to the project arborist, the redwoods were planted as a hedge and in extremely poor condition. They would never mature into good trees, he said, noting that other redwoods on the property were thriving and would provide better screening.

The city also pushed back on claims that very little had been done to modify the project to lessen its impact on the community.

“Saying that Toyota hasn’t done anything is not true, because I think that we’ve seen iterations of their plans that have changed over time,” said Amber Blizinski, assistant community development director.

It’s a balancing act, Blizinski said, referring to the decision to approve the project. “I have to weigh things like how the city needs to be supportive of businesses that are permitted uses in these zoning districts,” she said.

But Blizinski also leveraged the hearing to gain a few more concessions. At her prodding, Toyota indicated a willingness to install motion sensor lights on the rooftop and to screen the vehicles better, a major source of contention for residents.

Blizinski encouraged people to keep reaching out with their concerns too.

“Toyota, they’ve said in this meeting, in this public hearing, that they’re willing to listen to you when they start construction. They’re going to have contact information. They’re here for you,” she said.