Saddleback/South Beach : MISSION VIEJO : Planners OK 24-Hour Supermarket, Drugstore

A proposed supermarket and drugstore will be allowed to stay open 24 hours if they can get along with a nearby residential neighborhood, the Planning Commission decided Monday.

Commissioners approved a 148,000-square-foot shopping center at Los Alisos Boulevard near Marguerite Parkway on a 4-1 vote with a bundle of conditions, including a proviso that will pull the stores’ overnight privileges if neighbors complain.

The restrictions “will condition them to be good neighbors,� said Commissioner Sunnie Castner. “I think they will work very, very hard to make sure they have a good relationship with the people across the street.�

Commissioners were persuaded to allow the overnight operations for a proposed Hughes supermarket and Sav-On Drugs by a pledge from Sav-On to have a pharmacist working around the clock.

“We have absolutely no 24-hour drugstores in Mission Viejo,� Commissioner Susan Wilson said.

Residents had complained about plans for lighting, traffic and the overnight stores.

The developer, Doerken Properties Inc., agreed to install low-glare lights, and city studies indicated that surrounding streets would not be overburdened.

However, Commissioner Tom Potocki, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said the future center would still be a burden on its neighbors. “I know if I was living there, I would have a hard time� with the project, he said.