Site of the MTA land between Pacific and Sunset.

Note: This is the largest land use project in Venice at the present time and for the foreseeable future. What happens here could change the chemistry of Venice, and because of this impact, it will be a headline for years to come. Jim Murez is a long-time Venice resident who helped draft the Venice Specific Plan and was a member of the Venice Neighborhood Council Land Use and Planning Committee for years. Hopefully, Murez will keep the public updated on this Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) project and be a “watch-dog” for Venice. The proper development of this land cannot be over emphasized.

By Jim Murez
I’ve lived across the street from this site for 30 years. MTA is not one individual. Although some think they can cause them to act responsibly, I don’t believe it. They are above all City planning codes, are not held by the Land Use Plan prepared by the City, but rather by the same plan that allowed Marina del Rey to be developed to six stories. They are a level of government that does what they want even if the residents in the region don’t agree.

The Land Use Plan (LUP) the City created and the California Coastal Commission (CCC) certified at the State level defined Venice as a coastal region divided into several elements. The elements included manufacturing uses, public park space, commercial and residential uses in several categories. This “mix” was recorded as an accurate snap shot frozen in time. The Metro, MTA site was part of the plan as was the Dog Park.

The City likes to address the knee jerk reaction of the people that scream about how they want things changed. Developers on the other hand pay to make changes. And the political process kicks in to get votes!

Take the plan with respect to affordable housing in Venice. One developer created the Venice Art Lofts and Dogtown Station across the street from the Metro, MTA site. These two sites were down zoned from manufacturing to residential and Venice lost over 100 local artist jobs (Rodger Corman Studios… a movie a week). These two projects were both required to provide a number of affordable units (as I recall from memory 8 in one and 16 in the other). They were included on the plans approved by the community and planning but the developer bought his way out of creating them by making a closed door deal with the City Attorney and in the end was required to pay one million dollars to a company in Long Beach to build four units east of the 405. Councilman Mike Bonin was the chief deputy for Councilman Bill Rosendahl when these deals were agreed to.

Now, Councilman Bonin says “don’t worry, I’m on the MTA Board.” But I do worry, and not that Mike is not a great councilman, but that our Land Use Plan that defines the “MIX” won’t be followed because outside interests and powers are at work behind the scenes. We need to keep our parks for recreation uses and the Metro, MTA site needs to provide jobs and spaces for people and businesses that don’t want to drive to work–locals please … and not be used as bate for solving the entire City’s housing problem with “affordable” handouts at the expense of screwing the local plan.

Help save our community. Support sticking to the mix in the Land Use Plan.