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Venice News Updates

News of Venice, CA and Marina del Rey CA

Murez Responds to Bonin’s Parking Motion

Posted by :reta On : November 18, 2014
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Category: Parking, Planning, Venice Specific Plan

This week Councilman Mike Bonin made a motion at the City Council to look at the in-lieu and grandfathered parking situation that Venice has. Jim Murez was asked to comment on the motion for the Update. Murez is a long-time Venice resident, former member of Land Use and Planning Committee and provider of input to the original Venice Specific Plan. Venice Update has used Murez many times to explain or interpret certain meanings involving Venice’s governing documents. See “Bonin Acts to Protect Parking in Venice.”

By Jim Murez
I do not know a lot about it? The $18k fee was established in 1988 and has never been adjusted. It does not reflect the real cost to create such a space and ignores the simple fact without creating the space in the proximity of the development or offer a solution to how a space that is created across town is going to service the property that is requesting it, the entire community loses.

The wording in the Specific Plan does not match the wording in the Land Use Plan which causes conflict for people seeking permits and poses the City agents the State in the permit process.

What is the benefit of the In-Lieu fee in the first place? LAMC allows a project to park up to 750 feet away from their project. This code exists without the Specific Plan. So what does the In-Lieu option get us here in Venice that the rest of the City does not already have… The right to place a dollar value on the space and leaves the issue of proximity open for other definitions in the Specific Pan to address – namely a shuttle service and the idea of creating public parking lots with these funds.

If you do not take the Land Use Plan as a whole (it is more descriptive than the Specific Plan) you end up with a broken solution. This is what we have seen the City implement for years, they take the In-Lieu fees and don’t create the parking or the shuttle services. This causes an out of balance solution. One can’t work without the other for very long!

I noticed Mike is considering removing the Grandfather Parking Credits. I think this would be a mistake on the surface. It will create an unfair burden on property owners that have older (historic) properties. For the most part, it will push them into purchasing In-Lieu spaces or demolishing their buildings. And so many properties have already received these credits that it would be very unfair to now only apply such a reform to the new comers.

Grandfather rights are a much deeper issue in my opinion, for example what about a building that is higher than current code would allow… we have plenty of them in Venice. If you take away the grandfather rights for parking an apartment building that is taller than code allows would you be forced to remove your top stories or leave them empty because you don’t have parking for them? What about the single family house that wants to remodel but does not have three parking spaces, are they going to be forced to demo and build new because they can only provide two on site spaces. It is not just a commercial property issue and opens many doors that have to be considered. Just because the code is revised to new standards are we now going to force all the old permits into the new code or allow them to continue with their grandfathered rights (and parking is only one of many rights that are grandfathered).

With respect to his asking City Council to pass a motion to amend the Specific Plan, we have been told for years it can’t be done without opening the entire document up for public input. I wonder how that story has now changed?

Bonin Acts to Protect Venice Parking

Posted by :reta On : November 18, 2014
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Category: Councilman, Parking, Planning, Venice, Venice Specific Plan

Los Angeles — Neighbors, shoppers and tourists frustrated with the lack of parking near Venice Beach are one step closer to seeing tangible solutions that will provide additional parking spaces, thanks to a motion authored by City Councilmember Mike Bonin.

See also story by Jim Murez regarding the motion. Murez asks why in-lieu parking anyway, and cautions all regarding the grandfathering. Murez is long-time member of Venice and former member of the Land Use and Planning Committee. He also provided input for the Venice Specific Plan. One can see from these statements what a dilemna parking is for Venice.

For the past 15 years, developers in Venice have had the option to pay “in-lieu fees” instead of meeting parking requirements for their projects. While in-lieu fees can be used to fund the construction of public parking lots or other solutions that increase parking capacity, the fees set by the Venice Coastal Zone Specific Plan are outdated and woefully inadequate. Because in-lieu fees in Venice have not been increased since originally approved in 1999, the fees no longer reflect today’s costs or provide the City a real opportunity to build new parking capacity. A motion recently submitted by Bonin will solve this problem by increasing the in-lieu fee to today’s dollars and by ensuring that it continues to remain consistent with inflation.

“We need to get real about providing meaningful parking solutions in Venice so residents, customers, and tourists are able to park near their homes, businesses, and the boardwalk,” said Bonin. “Updating the in-lieu parking fee in Venice will help us put neighborhoods first by allowing the City to finance the construction of parking spaces and increase parking capacity for the neighborhood.”

In addition to asking for in-lieu fees to be updated, Bonin’s motion directs the Planning Department to examine the merits of eliminating, restructuring, or replacing the in-lieu fees, and to examine the benefits and impacts of eliminating “grandfathered” parking rights as part of the upcoming Local Coastal Plan for Venice.

Bonin’s motion is one of a series of actions the Councilmember is taking to improve parking availability in Venice. Beyond updating in-lieu fees, Bonin is exploring angled parking, public-private partnerships to build new lots, and a comprehensive review of alternatives to in-lieu fees (such as a parking credit system used in cities like Santa Monica).

The fee motion was seconded by Councilmember Jose Huizar and will next be considered by the Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Commission to Hear 259 Hampton Appeal

Posted by :reta On : November 14, 2014
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Category: Planning

Planning commission will hear an appeal to 259 Hampton Drive 17 December, at 4:30, at the Henry Medina Building, 11214 West Exposition Blvd, LA 90064. Ilana Marosi is the appellant.

The hearing involves an appeal of the Zoning Administrator’s decision to approve a Coastal Development Permit authorizing the conversion, construction, use and maintenance of a take-out restaurant and retail establishment into a sit-down restaurant located within the single jurisdiction of the California Zone, and, to approve a Conditional Use to permit the sale and dispensing of a full line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption in conjunction with a proposed restaurant in the M1-1 Zone, and to adopt the action of the lead agency in issuing the Mitigated Negative Declaration ENV-2013-2592-MND as the environmental clearance for this project.

Correspondence must be in the form of an original and fourteen (14) copies (15 sets) of all correspondence or exhibits (for the file, (5) Commission members, Director of Planning, Chief Zoning Administrator, Associate Zoning Administrator, City Planner, Commission Executive Assistant and City Attorney). All fifteen copies/sets may be mailed together.. Reference Case No. ZA-2012-1770-CDP-CUB-1A. Correspondence must be received no later than 10 days prior to the hearing.

320 Sunset Hearing Thursday

Posted by :reta On : November 7, 2014
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Category: Land Use and Planning Projects, Planning

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Family emjoying lunch and sunshine.

Hearing for 320 Sunset will be 13 November at 10:30 am by zoning administrator at West LA Municipal Building, 1645 Corinth Ave, LA 90025.

Business, called Gjusta, has been open for less than a month and is now operating as a bakery/kitchen/retail but owner wants to broaden the scope of the business to include a restaurant with alcohol and off-site sale of beer and wine.

Councilman Mike Bonin has already provided his concerns and disapproval for the project to the zoning administrator in a letter dated 31 October 2014. Letter was posted in 1 November Venice Update.

Not since the Abbot Kinney Hotel has there been such opposition. Owner, Fran Camaj, has another business on Abbot Kinney that has no parking and owner has flaunted the rules of occupancy. Residents are up in arms about another establishment ignoring the rules. Some object to M-1 being used commercially. Artists need the area they say. Others say the area is congested as it is without the bakery. The area is adjacent to Gold’s Gym. Many point out the narrow street. It is a 60-foot designated street but probably measures in the 30-digit range. The main concern is lack of parking and the use of a patio for eating and drinking with only a 13.6-foot alley between that and a residence.

The 5000-sf building is on a 6000-sf lot zoned M-1. The alley is a substandard 13.6 feet. The lessee has a lease on the abutting 6000-sf, westerly lot that he plans to use for parking, loading and unloading, and trash. The lessee has a 10-year lease on lot to be used for parking but the overall lease is not contingent on extra lot. Bakery could lose use of lot ten years down the line and not have any parking.

Sign posted in window states 320 Sunset is seeking a “change of use of existing 5000-sf commercial bakery/kitchen/retail building to a commercial bakery/kitchen/retail/restaurant with 717-sf of service area and 22 indoor seats, 65 patio seats, on-site sale and consumption of full line alcohol and retail sale of beer/wine.

“Proposed hours of operation are 6 am to 12 am (midnight) Sunday thru Thursday and Friday and Saturday, 6am to 1 am.”

Correspondence can be addressed to JoJo Pewsawang at JoJo.Pewsawang@lacity.org. Case No. is ZA2013-33769CDP)(CUB)(SPP), ENV2013-3377-MND.

Wart or Jewel?

Posted by :reta On : November 7, 2014
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Category: Land Use and Planning Projects, Planning

By Reta Moser

Most recently it has been called “mansionization.” Formerly, it was “the Persian Palace.” Whatever it is called, it is as distinguishable as a wart growing on the nose and is not only noticeable but is disconcerting to the onlooker. It doesn’t fit.

What doesn’t belong is the 64-dollar question. Is it a beginning of something good or the ending of something good? Is it a jewel or is it a wart? Who is right? Some are displaced happenings and others are in the eye of the beholder but aside from that …

Neighborhoods have been screaming, writing, explaining their dilemma for years. It has all been so subjective in an objective world that is filled with numbers that it gets lost. Architects design by numbers, rules … not what “looks right”

To an architect, it is a jewel in an old community; to the community, it is the wort.

Finally, this week Planning came out with a notice of recognition of the situation, the problem. See LA Times article. Planning not only sees the problem but aims to do something about it. But Planning says this will take at least 18 months. Will the formula be a “fit all?” Venice which is the “character” neighborhood by the sea was not mentioned in the study.

Why?

Venice is the community with all the character that people want to preserve. It has canal communities-old and new. It has walk streets at the ocean. It has walk streets in a community away from the ocean. It has houses dating back to the early 1900’s. It has houses dating back to today. It has many distinct neighborhoods, so distinct that they have names and are equally different. Venice has a smattering of it all and is bordered by the ocean and Marina del Rey.

David Ewing and Laura Silagi, who were both available for a LUPC meet, said it was because area was in coastal zone. Makes sense.

Many Venice residents have been trying to get this message out to the residents but the question and problem are both: How do architects design to this? It has pitted homeowners, developers, architects against members of LUPC, and a community that wants to maintain a certain charm and character.

Sue Kaplan, chair of the mass, scale and character committee, says it can be done. Are she and her committee destined to be the referee for all of this? Her committee, consisting of people from all walks including architects, are going to put things on paper with the intention of giving architects and developers guidelines. Kaplan says they will not be considering architecture design. So if one wants a contemporary house in a row of Craftsman, it can be done. The one thing that Kaplan and her members have found out is that the design must be considered on a block-by-block basis. Not easy! Not impossible. That is how unique Venice is.

Kaplan may be ready to present her guidelines at the next Venice Neighborhood Council meet. These guidelines will have criteria or numbers, not “looks like,” “feels like.”

Ramsey Daham, (8 September 2014 Venice Update) architect and member of LUPC, says the Venice Coastal Zone Specific Plan is in itself the restriction for architects and developers.

Mark Kleiman, attorney and member of LUPC, says wait a minute.

Mark Kleiman, (See Update 11 September 2014) made a valid point, when he criticized the Update because it claimed one project was rejected, yet fit the criteria of the Venice Specific Plan. He cited paragraph 8(c)1of the Venice Specific Plan:

That the Venice Coastal Development Project is compatible in scale and character with the existing neighborhood, and that the Venice Coastal Development Project would not be materially detrimental to adjoining lots or the immediate neighborhood.

At a recent Venice Neighborhood Council meeting, one member of the board made the statement that in all good conscience he could not vote down a project that met the criteria of the Venice Specific Plan.

Arnold Springer, long time resident of Venice and participant in the late 80’s workshops that helped feed info for the Venice Specific Plan, said he wanted a moratorium until this can be settled.

I worked in two of the 80’s workshops and was horrified by one group who rejected two-story buildings and rejected consolidation of residential and commercial lots just to name a few things. That is how diversified the thought was and still is in Venice.

In my humble opinion, it was a “miracle” when Venice Specific Plan occurred as it did.

Here we are today trying to please all in a day more than 100 years from when this little community by the sea began.

I believe in miracles!

Councilman Registers Concerns, Disapproval for 320 Sunset

Posted by :reta On : November 1, 2014
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Category: Planning

d. 320 Sunset

Councilman Mike Bonin registered his concerns and disapproval for 320 Sunset in a letter to the zoning administrator. Chris Robertson, deputy director of Land Use and Planning for Councilman Bonin, shared letter with those protesting.

The project at 320 Sunset is scheduled to be heard 13 November at 10:30 am by zoning administrator at West LA Municipal Building, 1645 Corinth Ave, LA 90025.

Applicant is seeking a Coastal Development Permit for a change of use from commercial bakery/retail to commercial bakery/restaurant/retail use.
Applicant is also seeking a Conditional Use to permit the sale and dispensing of a full line of alcoholic beverages for on- site consumption and the off-site sales of beer and wine only, in conjunction with a 5,008 square-foot restaurant, with a service floor area of 717 square feet, with seating for 87 patrons total (22 indoors, and 65 within an outdoor patio on private property), and hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 12 midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday through Saturday; and Pursuant to Section 11.5.7-C, a determination of Specific Plan Project Permit Compliance with the Venice Coastal Zone Specific Plan.

Correspondence can be addressed to JoJo Pewsawang at JoJo.Pewsawang@lacity.org. Case No. is ZA2013-33769CDP)(CUB)(SPP), ENV2013-3377-MND.

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Planning Commission to Hear 1511 Abbot Kinney

Posted by :reta On : November 1, 2014
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Category: Planning

Tags:, ,

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An appeal on 1511 Abbot Kinney will be heard by the West Los Angeles Planning Commission at 4:30 pm, 19 November at the Henry Medina Building, 11214 West Exposition Blvd., 90064. Jim Murez is the appellant.

The hearing involves an appeal of the Zoning Administrator’s decision, pursuant to Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 12.20.2, to Approve a Coastal Development Permit for a change of use and reduction in building size from a 3,820 square-foot Artist-in-Residence dwelling unit to a 3,465 square-foot building containing a 1,106 square-foot Artist-in-Residence dwelling unit and 2,359 square-foot commercial retail space, within an existing three-story building with an attached garage, located within the Single-Jurisdiction Area of the California Coastal Zone, and the Zoning Administrator’s decision to adopt the action of the Lead Agency in issuing Categorical Exemption ENV-2014-0278-CE as the environmental clearance for this action.

Correspondence: provide an original and fourteen (14) copies (15 sets) of all correspondence or exhibits (for the file, (5) Commission members, Director of Planning, Chief Zoning Administrator, Associate Zoning Administrator, City Planner, Commission Executive Assistant and City Attorney). Correspondence must be received 10 days prior to hearing. Case No. is ZA-2014-277-CDP-1A.

Planning

Posted by :reta On : November 1, 2014
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Category: Planning

26 30th Avenue will be heard at 9 am 20 November by zoning administrator at West LA Municipal Building, 1645 Corinth Ave, LA 90025.

A Coastal Development Permit is sought for the proposed demolition of an existing single-family dwelling and the construction of a new 28-foot tall, 3800 square-foot single-family dwelling located on a 2,650 square-foot lot in the RD1.5-1-O Zone, within the dual-jurisdiction area of the California Coastal Zone.

Correspondence can be addressed to Michael Sin at Michael.sin@lacity.org, (213) 978-1345.

Planning Commission to Hear 2404 Boone Ave

Posted by :reta On : November 1, 2014
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Category: Planning

West Los Angeles Planning Commission will hear an appeal for 2404 Boone Ave 4:30 pm, 19 November at the Henry Medina Building, 11214 West Exposition Blvd, 90064. Appellants are Lydia Ponce and Pamela Anderson.

The hearing involves the demolition of a single-family dwelling and the construction of a single-family dwelling.

Correspondence: provide an original and fourteen (14) copies (15 sets) of all correspondence or exhibits (for the file, (5) Commission members, Director of Planning, Chief Zoning Administrator, Associate Zoning Administrator, City Planner, Commission Executive Assistant and City Attorney). Correspondence must be received 10 days prior to hearing. Case No. ZA-2014-1111-CDP-1A.

Planning to Hear Two on Oxford

Posted by :reta On : October 31, 2014
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Category: Planning

625 and 627 Oxford will be heard 25 November 2015. Matthew Quan will hear 625 Oxford at 10:30 and Antonio Isaia will hear 627 at 10 am. Both hearings will be at the West LA Municipal Building, 1645 Corinth, West LA.