Before

After

By Angela McGregor

At the most recent VNC Board meeting, two projects from developer Thomas James Capital were discussed. The first was a single family home at 2819 Grayson. The original permit obtained in November, 2015, from the City of Los Angeles described the following project: “A 2-story addition to an existing 832 square foot 1-story single family home”, adding 2438 square feet to the original structure and maintaining at least 49 percent of the original structure.

Based upon this description, the City of Los Angeles issued a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) exemption and also a building permit, at which time demolition commenced. In March, the Coastal Commission received a request for an appeal to the exemption, due to the fact that the scale of the project was clearly beyond that described in the original permit and the original structure had been entirely demolished (see: https://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2016/4/th17e-s-4-2016.pdf).

The Coastal Commission sided with the appellants, and denied the exemption, stating: “the fact is that most of the entire structure, with the exception of some of the wood framing, has been demolished. Thus, there is no existing structure to “add on” to or improve, which as a result, invalidates the exemption.”

The Coastal Commission then revoked the City’s permit, and yet the work continued. Sadly, not only had the original structure been demolished, but a massive tree in front of the property containing a hawk’s nest was also taken down illegally and improperly. The new home constructed on the property in apparent defiance of this stop-work order was sold in late August for $3.5 million (see: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Los-Angeles/2819-Grayson-Ave-90291/home/6734845).

The motion on the VNC’s agenda recommended the CDP approve the project with maximum fines (which could total up to $1.63 million), and that those fines be imposed on the developer and not the current homeowner. Jim Murez argued in favor of this option, since in his opinion, based upon numerous conversations with all involved parties, the permitting process was deeply flawed and the developer contended that the City had never notified them of the stop work order issued by the Coastal Committee. Furthermore, the Coastal Committee found the size, mass and scale of the development to be in keeping with the rest of the neighborhood, implying that they would have approved the development had it gone through the appropriate legal process. The Coastal Committee recommended, therefore, that the developer “pay off” the community with a large donation to a local non-profit, since the City would not likely fine the developer, anyway.

Board President Ira Koslow disagreed, and stated that the developer and/or architect clearly received a stop work order and chose to continue the work, and that there appeared to be collusion to do so between the occupant and the developer. He felt the Board should deny the motion to approve the development and send a strong message to developers in Venice — “no cheating!”. This motion was amended to include the recommendation of maximum fines, and passed 12-2-2.

The second project from this developer on the Board’s agenda was 213 Ruth Avenue. The motion on the agenda recommended denial of the project for similar reasons to the previous project: lying to neighbors regarding the existence of plans and ignoring stop work orders from the Coastal Commission. Also, they found the project not to be in keeping with the mass, scale and character of the neighborhood. This motion passed, 15-0-1.

During the discussion of these issues, a couple of broader points were brought up:

1) The VNC Board should have more authority over tree removal. The tree removed in front of 2819 Grayson was described as an important, heritage tree whose loss (ostensibly, to repair the sidewalk) was deeply mourned by the neighborhood.

2) The loophole used by this developer to bypass Coastal Commission approval is one widely used by many developers in Venice, who, under the pretense of retaining “49%” of the existing structure will often leave a single wall (or less) and proceed with development that, in fact, required a CPD.   In fact, several public speakers pointed out that there are more developments from this particular developer in the pipeline which will come up at future VNC Board meetings which use similar tactics.

All motions on the general consent calendar were passed without dissent, including the motion for the Holiday Reunification Program made by the Homeless Committee.

L.A. Department of Public Works President Kevin James made gave a 20 minute presentation on the Department’s ongoing projects, including fixing L.A.’s broken sidewalks and streets. To request service, dial 311 or use the LA311 app.