(Photo courtesy of Roxanne Brown.)

City issued a “stop work’ order on five units at the northwest corner of Venice and Oakwood Thursday, 27 May. City removed the “stop work” order early Friday morning, 28 May.

Owner and builder Frank Murphy is in the process of demolishing five units. He wants to replace them with four units (two lots), one of which is a low-income unit. He says he has had planning permits since 2007 but because of the recession he has just recently obtained funds to build. He has kept up the extensions through out the years and is now ready to go forward with the project.

“I have meet with Planning and the Coastal Commission,” he said. “I have had two hearings at the City and met twice with the Walk Street Neighborhood group. Now they want me to meet at the Land Use and Planning Committee this week, Tuesday. I don’t know why.”

Sue Kaplan, who is head of the Walk Streets Neighborhood group, said Murphy met once. He showed up and walked out. What he talked about was a different project than the one he is building. The piece of property he owns is the gateway to Venice Beach and something noteworthy should be built there. It does not meet the mass, scale, and character of the neighborhood.”

Several question that the permit process may have had irregularities; that residents do not know what is being built; and many are very concerned that what is being built does not meet the significance of the lot.

Robin Rudisill, chair of the Venice Neighborhood Council VNC) Land Use and Planning Committee (LUPC), has asked builder Frank Murphy to appear at the meet Tuesday night to explain and answer some of the residents questions.

Update asked many for copy of rendering. This is one Rudisill submitted. Frank Murphy has one on the way. It will be in next Update.

Photos were part of a presentation given in 2007. It is possible this was before the zoning administrator.