234 S. Marguerita Avenue
Six bungalows and a single-family house on a Marguerita Avenue lot would come down for 20 rental apartments, six of them lower-income. Alhambra's Planning Commission approved it 7-0 — the second attempt on a site whose 2020 condo entitlement expired unbuilt.
Units
20
Affordable units
6 of 20 (4 very-low, 1 low, 1 extremely-low income)
Details
- Address
- 234 South Marguerita Avenue, Alhambra, CA 91801
- Case number
- PD-24-02 & LOTM-24-01
- APN
- 5343-017-026 & 5343-017-003
- Lot size
- 23,556 sq ft (0.54 acres)
- Stories
- 2
- Parking
- 4 surface spaces (AB 2097 / State Density Bonus)
- Unit mix
- 16 one-bedroom / 3 two-bedroom / 1 three-bedroom
- Replaces
- 6 existing residential units — 5 bungalows and 1 single-family residence
- Hearing
- 2026-05-04, Alhambra Planning Commission
- Commission vote
- 7-0, one commissioner absent (Resolution No. 26-06)
- State law
- State Density Bonus Law; AB 2097 (parking)
- CEQA status
- Exempt, PRC § 21080.66
- Applicant
- Jack Li / 021 Studio — the parent ownership entity is not identified in the public record
What's proposed
Applicant Jack Li, working with architect 021 Studio, wants to combine two parcels — 234 South Marguerita Avenue and 237 South Curtis Avenue — into one 23,556-square-foot site and build three two-story buildings holding 20 rental units: 16 one-bedrooms, 3 two-bedrooms, and 1 three-bedroom. The design is described in city materials as modern Craftsman-inspired. Six of the 20 units would be reserved as lower-income housing under the state Density Bonus Law — four very-low-income, one low-income, one extremely-low-income. In exchange, the project gets a parking reduction: just 4 surface spaces for 20 units, using the density bonus alongside AB 2097, the state law that lets residential projects near transit skip minimum parking requirements. Eight bicycle spaces are also planned, and the site would keep roughly 5,753 square feet of open space.
What it's replacing
The site is currently six residential units — five bungalows and one single-family house — on two adjoining lots zoned RH (Residential High Density). Both parcels would merge into one under a separate Lot Merger application (LOTM-24-01) filed alongside the project.
How it got here
This is not the first plan for this lot. In 2020, the Planning Commission approved an 11-unit condominium project here — Tentative Tract Map TT 82939 and Residential Planned Development Permit RP-19-15 — on August 3. A challenge to that approval went to the Alhambra City Council, which upheld the commission's decision on October 12, 2020. The entitlements were never used: no building permits were issued, and they eventually expired. The current 20-unit rental version is a different application. It was filed February 2, 2024, as Planned Development Permit PD-24-02 together with the lot merger case, and the city deemed the application complete on April 29, 2024. Alhambra's Design Review Board approved the project's design on February 24, 2026. The Planning Commission then held a public hearing on May 4, 2026, continued from an earlier date on April 20. The commission adopted Resolution No. 26-06 that day, 7-0 with one commissioner absent, approving the Planned Development Permit and lot merger and finding the project exempt from further environmental review under Public Resources Code § 21080.66, which covers qualifying infill housing on small urban sites. The commission added two conditions: existing residents get first opportunity to relocate within the new project, and no artificial turf.
Where it stands
Approved. The Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 26-06 on May 4, 2026, 7-0 with one commissioner absent. No appeal to the Alhambra City Council has surfaced in public records through early September 2026 — the same path the 2020 condo version took, but not repeated here so far. Still open: who stands behind applicant Jack Li — whether 021 Studio or a separate ownership entity holds the property — and whether the project has reached building permits.
What this means if you live nearby
With the commission's approval in place and no appeal on record, expect six units to come down and construction to follow, though no permit has been confirmed yet. The reduced four-space parking count — a product of state law, not a city exception — is worth watching for anyone on a nearby block: it is a preview of what density-bonus projects near transit can now build without matching parking to unit count.
Team
Source (staff-report): https://www.alhambraca.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05042026-1566 · retrieved 2026-08-24 · last verified 2026-09-02
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