GRASS ROOTS VENICE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL

 Land Use & Planning Committee

 

Monday, October 6, 2003

7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Venice Boys & Girls Club

2232 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

 

MEETING MINUTES

 

CALL TO ORDER: 7:15 P.M.

 

1.         ROLL CALL

Present: DeDe Audet, Laura Burns. Richard Carter, Darryl DuFay, Chairman; Greg Fitchitt, Dan Valenzuela, Chris Williams.  Absent: Phil Raider

 

  2.       OPENING REMARKS

Darryl DuFay, Chair, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone to the meeting.  Laura Burns was welcomed as David MoringÕs replacement on the Committee from District 1. 

 

3.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The minutes for September 8th were approved a vote of 5-0 with one abstention

 

4.         ELECTION OF OFFICERS

            Greg Fitchitt was elected Vice Chair due to the departure from the committee of Vice Chair David Moring.    Greg Fitchitt gave up his position on the Projects Selection Subcommittee.  Phil Raider will assume greater responsibility on that Subcommittee and had asked to be relieved of his position of Secretary. DeDe Audet agreed to serve as Secretary.  Chris Williams, alternate on the Projects Selection Subcommittee, will now assume a full time role.  Laura Burns offered to take the alternate position on the Subcommittee.

             

5.         PROJECTS

 

351-353 Sunset Ave.

This Agenda item was again tabled.  The Planning Department has misplaced a portion of the applicantÕs file and it has not been reconstructed.

 

677 San Juan (New Project) Oakwood

At the request of Committee member Richard Carter this Agenda item was taken out of order.  Brian Crommie, applicant and owner, presented his request for a curb cut to provide access to a driveway that would accommodate three vehicles.  He presented a petition signed by his neighbors that indicated that they were not opposed to the curb cut.  He further stated that Building and Safety and Planning Department have signed off subject to the Department of Transportation, which would like the approval of the LUPC.

 

A motion to approve the curb cut was passed on a vote of 7-0.

 

Lincoln Center Redevelopment 

This was the sixth meeting of the committee on this proposed project.  The Committee had previously heard the project on January 20th, February 17th, March 4th, March 17th and April 21st.  The entire March 17th meeting was devoted to a discussion of the project.  The applicant subsequently met with community leaders after the April 21st meeting to discuss their project.  

 

In the intervening months there was a major change in the entitlements originally requested for this project.  The City of Los Angeles Planning and Zoning code for ÒMini-Shopping CentersÓ and ÒCommercial Corner DevelopmentsÓ have been changed as of July 1st and no longer affect this project.  The applicant is now requesting only one entitlement:  Zone Change of ÒP-1Ó to all ÒC2-1Ó.

 

Presenting for the architect Jai Pal Khalsa and developer Sam Adams was David Marshall, Associate Designer. Visuals of the projectÕs plans and elevations were set up for the public.  In addition, Mr. Marshall had a slide presentation, which focused on the historical growth of Venice by looking at Venice architecture for the period 1890Õs to present.  Mr. Marshall related this slide show presentation to the project new Òmission revivalÓ type exterior architecture.

 

Mr. Khalsa emphasized that since April they had reduced the height of project from 85 to 66-feet and increasing the residential setback component of the project.  He also stated that they would attend the Lincoln Boulevard ÒEnvisioningÓ community workshop in November.  

 

There were twenty-two public speakers.  The comments were wide ranging but focused on a number of areas from leaving the land in its present condition, it is too big, will create more traffic, want more study of the project, did not have enough information to make a decision, Òwe will come back with what we want,Ó and donÕt make any decision until after the Envisioning workshop in November.

 

Mr. Marshall, Adams, and Khalsa also answered questions from the audience. Mr. Khalsa responded to a wide range of the statements and questions asked by the public.  They included:

 

a. The requirements for parking.  The number of commercial and residential parking spaces provided.  The location of the spaces

b. The traffic study had been completed and had been made available last February.  Cal Trans and the Department of Transportation (DOT) reviewed the traffic study. A ÒMitigated DeclarationÓ had been completed, accepted and was in compliance.  This includes the re-stripping of Lincoln Boulevard from Venice to Rose Avenue to provide for an additional lane.

c. The project provides 20% affordable housing with 10% Low and 10% Moderate rates.  In addition to their proposed 15-year term for this housing, they would write a contract that an original tenant could not be move after 15-years.

d.  The height of the project had been reduced from 85 Ð 66-feet

e. The Community Plan as stated in the public comment does not apply.  The Venice Specific Plan does not apply since the project in not in the Venice Coastal Zone.

f.  In the environmental area the project would have solar electricity.  They were also looking at permeable paving, and other recycled and health oriented materials.

g. That there would be two stories of commercial with three stories of housing above it and two underground stories of parking.

 

Chairman DuFay offered motions for the CommitteesÕ consideration.  He commented that the motions encompassed areas of concern and clarification about the project that had been raised at this and previous meetings.  The motions were:

 

1. Zoning Change: Change the Parking Zoning P-1 to all C2-1.

2. Lower height:  The Transitional Height Limit requirement shall be observed, except that there shall be a maximum height of 61-feet for that part of the project located greater than 199 horizontal feet from the adjacent residential RW1 property.

3. Ground level parking:  There shall be a maximum of one and a half parking trays on the North lot and one tray on the South lot.

4. Affordable housing:  Twenty (20%) percent of the total residential units shall be affordable housing.  There shall be two categories of affordability, CRA Moderate and CRA Low, with no category having less than 40% of the affordable rentals.  Length of Affordable Housing Agreement: 30 years.

5. Signs: Only monument type signs may be erected at street side. No pylon type signs.  Individual business signs on the buildings shall conform to LA City Sign Ordinances.

 

In the Committee discussion, Richard Carter gave an overview of the project and the need for benefits to the Venice community.  He also stated that there was room for communications in an envisioning process with the community and commented on the time we have spent on the project.  DeDe Audet spoke on the need for the affordable housing component, the need for the applicant to continue a dialogue with the community, and that the Committee should not be designing the project.  Dan Valenzuela also spoke on the affordable housing and the need for the Committee to move the project forward.  

 

Laura Burns spoke of a need for a town hall forum to promote public interaction such as the Envisioning workshop.  Greg Fitchett commended the applicant for having met with us six times over almost twelve months.  He also commented on the applicantÕs reduction of the height while strengthening the affordability component.   Chris Williams commented that it is time to move the project from the Committee into the wider arena of City Planning and for continued discussion.

 

In response to public comments about communicating with the public on Committee projects, Chairperson DuFay stated that the Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood Web site had sent out information on the meeting and that in accordance with the Brown Act the Agenda was posted at the designated sites.  He further stated that to further inform the public, the Agenda items are printed in the Òon the agenda sectionÓ of the Argonaut newspaper.  In addition, local newspapers have the committeeÕs meeting times and place.

 

Mr. DuFay discussed the commitment of the committee to this project, which has spanned six meetings in the last ten months.  He commented that the motions incorporate important components of the project, which have been raised, and that they move the project forward.

 

Chris Williams made a motion to approve the motions as presented. Greg Fitchitt inquired of the applicants about the necessary height to build the project with the affordable housing component.  They replied that they need their proposed 66-feet height. There was a discussion of the height of the project.  Based upon their input, Greg Fitchitt made a motion for a 66-feet height.  Mr. Williams accepted this as a friendly motion.  The Committee agreed to have a vote on a change in height to 66-feet; it was passed on a vote of 5-2.  Mr. Fitchitt made a second motion regarding signs.  That motion was not accepted.

 

DeDe Audet made a motion.  Her motion, No. 6, was to encourage Mr. Adams and Khalsa to attend the Envisioning workshop and make a good faith effort to incorporate the concerns of the community.  Mr. Williams agreed to accept this as a friendly motion. The motion was:  ÒNo. 6. The developer to meet with the visioning group and make a good faith effort to incorporate the communityÕs desires.Ó The architect and developer agreed to attend the workshop.

 

The Committee passed original motions 1, 3, 4, and 5; amended motion 2; and new motion 6 on a vote of 6-0 with one abstention.

 

The motions as passed were:

1. Zoning Change: Change the Parking Zoning P-1 to all C2-1.

2. Lower height:  The Transitional Height Limit requirement shall be observed, except that there shall be a maximum height of 66-feet for that part of the project located greater than 199 horizontal feet from the adjacent residential RW1 property.

3. Ground level parking:  There shall be a maximum of one and a half parking trays on the North lot and one tray on the South lot

4. Affordable housing:  Twenty (20%) percent of the total residential units shall be affordable housing.  There shall be two categories of affordability, CRA Moderate and CRA Low, with no category having less than 40% of the affordable rentals.  Length of Affordable Housing Agreement: 30 years.

5. Signs: Only monument type signs may be erected at street side. No pylon type signs.  Individual business signs on the buildings shall conform to LA City Sign Ordinances.

6. The developer is to meet with the visioning group and make a good faith effort to incorporate the communityÕs desires.

 

 

1319 Abbot Kinney

The located has an existing mixed-use building with a commercial storefront and living space in the back.    Applicant and owner John Kertis requested the conversion of his property to 100% commercial use and building a new residence over the parking in the rear and providing a total of eight car spaces.  This would consist of converting the existing residential to commercial and building the new living space in the rear.

 

Mr. David Reddy, architect, presented the Project.  The Committee was very impressed with the mixed-use commercial and residential aspect of this project on Abbot Kinney.  Reference was made in the discussion to the on-going concerns about ÒArtist-in-ResidenceÓ development in this area and the lack of any expanded commercial developments. 

 

The Committee passed this request for a conversion on a vote of 7-0.

 

   

6.         PUBLIC COMMENT 

Mary Summer made a presentation about possible consequences, if her information was correct, on traffic entering the Oxford Triangle on Washington Blvd. and using the new exit proposed for the exclusive use of the Trammel Crow project onto Lincoln Blvd.  Such a traffic pattern would create increased traffic through this residential area by bypassing the intersection of Lincoln and Washington Blvd.  It would also open the Lincoln Blvd. traffic to come in the reverse direction.

 

 Note:  A subsequent contact with a representative from Trammel Crow confirmed that the entrance onto Lincoln Blvd. would be for their projectÕs residents only. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 10:15