Craig Bell
Ref: Photo of five sitting at Corner on Carter in 11 September issue.

I believe people in America are still allowed to sit down in public areas, even though they are not dressed up and are of mixed race. I don’t see any unlawful activity going on. There are many residents in the Triangle that “drink in public,” and they live in houses and are not forced to live on the streets. Who are these people hurting by hanging out there? Who are we to judge them?

Reta Moser
For those of you who are concerned about Mass, Scale and Character, may I suggest you start with the interview with Sue Kaplan, chair of ad-hoc mass, scale, and character, Triangle Update 1 February 2014. Also read “Big Words-Mass, Scale and Character” in the Triangle Update 9 June 2014 issue.

Architects work with numbers, not subjective terms such as “looks-like, feels-like.” I know that is a poor choice of words. Please accept for lack of better words. (I will probably be branded with such forever.) I do apologize.

Sue Kaplan and her group, which includes architects, are trying to put numbers or parameters to “looks-like, feels-like,” the subjective part of the Venice Specific Plan and she feels it must be based on a block-by-block basis. Arnold Springer expounded on this in his comment last Update. He would like to see projects stopped in Venice until this is defined and accepted; others agree.

This is not the easiest thing to pin down but of the utmost importance. Projects are being turned down, even though they fit the numbers of the specific plan, because they do not meet the mass, scale and character. Yet, this is not defined.

Sue and her group have been at this for over a year now. For example: One block with 30 houses, 10 of which are Craftsman, 10 of which are 50’s stucco, and 10 of which are two-story stuccos of 70’s architecture and what does one do? I want to build a contemporary home. Can I do such? Of course, I want to know if I can do such before I buy the lot. Sue says I can build a contemporary by setting back the second floor, maybe 10 feet. She also says it is not about the architectural design, it is about the mass and character and scale of that particular block.

Three things I have learned about mass, scale, and character from Sue. One is setback second story if contemporary, not about the architectural design, must meet the character, mass, and scale of a neighborhood which is one block.

We all wait patiently for Sue Kaplan and her committee to publish something definitive for Venice. Meanwhile, others feel the restrictive nature of the VSP is the definition.