By Jim Murez

Note: Update tries to find people qualified to answer certain questions, philosophies, terms, regarding certain subjects. Murez has been active in the planning processes of Venice before and including the Venice Interim Control Ordinance, the Land Use Plan, and Venice Specific Plan. His knowledge and retention of these facts and ability to communicate such is sought and relied on by Update.

Artist-In-Residence (AIR) is defined in the LAMC as a live work space. The original intent was to recycle the old beer breweries in downtown Los Angeles. These buildings were being used by artists but did not conform to the minimum fire, life and safety standards. So this section of code was created to ensure each space had a restroom, kitchen (hot plate and refrigerator) and a closet where clothes could be hung. The common areas needed to include exit signs and emergency lighting.

Over the years the code was refined to also restrict the number of employees and deliveries per day that could come to the space. The parking requirement for LA was the same as LAMC.

In the last of 1980’s the Venice Interim Control Ordinance (ICO) was created. It described an Art-Craft overlay in parts of Venice where commercial zones existed. Under the ICO, AIR spaces were allowed to be created. In late 1987, I applied for the first AIR space to be created as a new structure from ground up. Until now they had all existed in downtown. It was approved by ZA Dan Green and in addition to having to provide two parking spaces for each of the two units in my duplex, he boldly required me to provide a guest parking space.

But the idea was clear, allow artists to live and work in the commercial zones of Venice without having to provide the parking demand that was required by code for the retail or other commercial uses. This worked well until speculation developers started building projects that would end up becoming converted to retail or other commercial uses upon receiving their C/O.

The issue about a percentage of In-Lieu actually has to do with BIZ (beach impact zone) parking requirements on residential projects which AIR are qualified as. They are not allowed by the VSP to purchase In-Lieu for more than 50% of this requirement.

The In-Lieu study that talks about the value of these spaces is at the following address:
http://archives.venicenc.org/files/Venice%20In-Lieu%20Fee%20Report%20July%202012.pdf

The owners had an unofficial outreach after residents within 100 feet received a notification of change of use request. Linda Lucks, president of Venice Neighborhood Council, reported to Planning that change of use of such had to be done for 500 feet and a hearing date could be no sooner than 30 days thereafter.

Kim’s Market, which suddenly appeared on the Venice building screen the last of April, has been cancelled for a May hearing by Planning.

Jim Murez, who is handling case for LUPC, said “As of 7th, the owners took documents to planning to request that 22 May hearing be cancelled. I suspect owners’ outreach will not be until late this month or early next month. If I am correct, they are going to schedule it after the VNC elections on the 18th but I have not heard anything to that effect yet.”

Teuke, LLC, known now as Kim’s Market at 600-604 Mildred, is applying for a change of use permit from market/delicatessen to market/restaurant with a service area of 600 square feet. They are zoned C-1.

They plan to have 32 indoor seats and 48 outdoor seats. In addition they want a full line of alcohol sales for on-site consumption as well as for off-site consumption. Parking is off-site and approximately two blocks from site on City property. Number of spaces is not disclosed. Proposed hours are 7 am to midnight.

The project is located in the Silver Triangle and abuts RD3.1 zoning on south and across street on west. Across street on north side, zoning is RD1.5. Across street to east, zoning is R1.

Kim’s market is still scheduled to be heard 22 March but it is unlikely that it will be heard then.

The market at 600 Mildred seeks a change of use from a market/deli/take-out to a market/restaurant with 600 square feet of service area.

The owners and the architect said at a meet and greet last Tuesday that they were going to cancel the 22 March date and proceed thru the Venice Neighborhood Council channels The notice was also only sent to a 100-foot radius and law requires a 500-foot radius 30 days prior to any zoning hearing.

Linda Lucks, president of the Venice Neighborhood Council, wrote the planning department that a 500-foot radius was required for service in this case and that after service, 30 days were required before hearing.

Kim’s market is still scheduled to be heard 22 March but it is unlikely that it will be heard then. The market at 600 Mildred seeks a change of use from a market/deli/take-out to a market/restaurant with 600 square feet of service area.

The owners and the architect said at a meet and greet last Tuesday that they were going to cancel the 22 March date and proceed thru the Venice Neighborhood Council channels The notice was also only sent to a 100-foot radius and law requires a 500-foot radius 30 days prior to any zoning hearing.

Linda Lucks, president of the Venice Neighborhood Council, wrote the following to planning and to all concerned.

It has come to my attention via the ZA Staff, Michael O’Brien, that notice was sent to property owners within a 100-foot radius, rather than the 500-foot radius required for a CUB.

Mr. O’Brian agreed that this hearing and every CUB notice requires a mailing radius of 500 feet. He is in the process of contacting the mailing service to determine how this happened.

He stated that the notices will have to be redone and mailed, which probably will result in the hearing being delayed from the current May 22nd date (30 days notice is required, so it will).

I strongly urge you to work with the Venice Neighborhood Council Land Use and Planning Committee and the community to move forward in a legal and correct manner.

Elaine Spierer of ImagineVenice.org is calling for a moratorium on all commercial change-of-use permits if 2014 parking requirements are exempt. ImagineVenice.org is co-written by Elaine Spierer and Marian Crostic.

“Only if they meet 2014 parking requirements should a permit be issued,” she emailed. “It is only in recent years that permits have been given for commercial change-of-use permits utilizing phantom parking spaces they call ‘credits.’” See Comments.

Update concurs. Update cannot get car in phantom space.

Parking! Parking! Parking! Parking is the name of the game in Venice. It is definitely a hot topic of conversation in this town busting with visitors. Some business owners are trying to solve the shortage with mechanical parking structures. Many residents seek city parking structures. But where does Phantom parking fit in?

Phantom parking means one, if qualified, can open a business without parking and bloat residential and commercial neighborhoods with his customers. Not too compatible a situation. Many ask: “Why doesn’t that place have parking?”

Update has been concerned and not knowledgeable. So Update asked Jim Murez, who is on the Land Use and Planning Committee (LUPC) and is running for chair what all this “phantom” parking really is and why we have it. Phantom parking is “credit” and “in-lieu” parking. The following are his answers.

What is credit parking?
An existing project with a non-conforming use under today’s municipal code; where the parking requirements at the time the project was constructed were more relaxed than today’s standards; the net result being that the project may continue to operate with a credit of any shortfall due to the code revisions that have occurred after original project approval.

An example: A project was approved as a Retail Use in 1940 and was required to provide zero parking at the time. Parking requirements were not introduced into the municipal code until the 1970’s (and in Venice where the standards are double that of Los Angeles only became in effect in 1988). Today that same project in Venice would be required to provide one stall for every 225 Sq. Ft. of floor area. In this example, if the building provided 1000 Sq. Ft. of floor area, under today’s standards 4 stalls (1000 / 250 = 4) would be the parking requirement. Therefore, to preserve the properties owners’ rights and not force the building to be condemned due to lack of parking, they receive four credits.

In-Lieu Parking
This topic raises a larger discussion about In-Lieu parking which also ties back to the Venice Specific Plan and the other concept of Adaptive Reuse. In-Lieu parking is the concept that a property may purchase the right to not provide onsite stalls. The concept is a good one which has been horribly implemented by our City. Unlike the working in our Coastal Commission Certified Land Use Plan, the City in creating our Specific Plan dropped some of the most important wording – the cost was tied to a 1988 rate for construction and omitted the part about land value. In 2011 while I was Chair of the VNC Parking Committee, I introduced a working paper that called the City to re-evaluate this concept. In 2012 the City undertook the task and published an official report that basically endorsed what I had been saying for many years – to cheap and nothing was actually getting built with the funds that had been collected.

The concept of Adaptive Reuse, as defined by our Land Use Plan and the Venice Specific Plan, encourages developers to not demolish the existing structures but rather offers incentives to allow them to use what is existing today. Others might include being able to encroach into the Public Right-of-Way along Windward Av in the first block to the beach where the historic Arched Colonnades cover the sidewalks. Parking credits and In-Lieu credits are two of these incentives.