Skechers USA Inc. dragged its heels for four years on a planned expansion of its Manhattan Beach corporate headquarters, as residents and City Council members complained that the site, a former car dealership, had become strewn with trash, broken windows and graffiti.

But when Skechers finally razed the structure at 330 S. Sepulveda Blvd., it only made things worse.

Dirt and dust blown from the site by the cool ocean breeze began to blanket the beachside neighborhood’s multi-million dollar homes.

Last month, when Skechers sought another one-year extension on the planned $28.5 million office building, it was granted only six months. “I’m left with a bitter taste in my mouth about this project,” the Daily Breeze quoted Councilman Richard Montgomery as saying at the hearing. “Maybe it’s all that dirt flying around.”

Now, a larger battle with neighbors may be brewing.

The company has ditched plans for a showpiece property with a bowed exterior covered in green glass, plus outdoor patios and an atrium. While the building’s 57,000-square-foot size and footprint haven’t changed, the company now plans to build a boxy three-story edifice with no curves and little flair.

Citing the design changes, Manhattan Beach Mayor Pro Tempore Mitch Ward voted against giving Skechers even the six-month extension. He wants residents to have more input in the building’s design.

“It looks like we have a totally different building here,” Ward said. “The design with the glass and water fountains is out. The public is not served when there is no discussion of a new building in a prominent part of our town.”

Ward said that the many hours spent by city employees, commissioners and residents tweaking Skechers’ original plans have been wasted. “That work is totally gone and now we have something that is basically a box,” he said. “It’s really sad, too. I had such high expectations.”

Skechers officials refused to comment.

Peter Mow, Skechers’ senior vice president of real estate and construction, told the council at its April 19 meeting that the design changes were needed due to escalating construction costs.

Mow told the council that the building would cost Skechers about $500 a square foot to build high by average L.A. County construction costs. He said the company plans to break ground this summer and expects to be finish building within 18 months.

It is becoming increasingly common for a developer to sell an unbuilt project to another builder for a quick profit soon after receiving entitlements. Or, as in the case of Skechers, developers make severe alterations to a building’s plan without altering its size or footprint. Many times this allows them to skirt having to go back through an extensive and time-consuming public approvals process.

While Ward said he understands why city councils aren’t allowed to tinker with the design of buildings, he laments the loss of the first plan, which all sides had approved.

In meetings during the approvals process, Skechers had made slight changes to the building’s design to soothe privacy concerns of neighbors living next to the project.

Ward said he believes residents could become upset after of the changes to the Skechers plan. “With the changing of design, I wonder if those same precautions are being met in terms of the privacy of the surrounding neighbors.”