Councilman Mike Bonin was the keynote speaker for the “Venice Life” Town Hall held Thursday evening at the Venice Boys & Girls Club. Venice Life was sponsored by the Venice Chamber of Commerce, the Venice Neighborhood Council and the Westside Impact Project.

Bonin spoke of his vision for Venice. Bonin said he wanted legislation to change state bill SB1818 which allows for increased square footage in exchange for low-income housing. He wants legislation to change such that low-income housing is a guarantee. He said that right now developers are taking advantage of the law and not providing low-income housing. The second thing he wanted to see was to have someone, a single authority, govern the Ocean Front Walk (OFW) area. There is no one to coordinate all the different departments and wants and needs of each area of OFW, he said. Third, we need a local coastal plan. Right now the City and the California Coastal Commission are working together to prevent an unworkable situation. Down range he said, “We must work to bring back the neighborhood.” Roads have always gotten wider but we should make then smaller and accessible to bikes. We must make the sidewalks larger for people to walk … to make a neighborhood a neighborhood.