Now that Election Day has past, it’s time to focus on the biggest threat still hovering over our small beach community. We’re coming to the end of an eight year battle with the Venice Median Project and urgently need your help.
In the latest alarming developments, Coastal Commission wants to put the Venice Dell Project and all of the issues on its December agenda, before the City can fulfill its legal requirements as well as the court’s expectation of taking the project to Transportation Commission and back through City Council. WE MUST STOP THIS COASTAL HEARING FROM HAPPENING!
Please visit our website to send an easy one-click email to the Coastal Commission and share your concern!
To: southcoast@coastal.ca.gov, chloe.seifert@coastal.ca.gov, steve.hudson@coastal.ca.gov, kate.huckelbridge@coastal.ca.gov
cc: karen.bass@lacity.org, hydee.feldsteinsoto@lacity.org, john.heath@lacity.org, kevin.james@lacity.org, traci.park@lacity.org, star.parsamyan@lacity.org, david.cataldo@lacity.org, ken.husting@lacity.org, Kevin.keller@lacity.org
Subject: Please Defer Venice Dell Hearings Until City Process is Complete
Re: Application No. 5-22-0588
Appeal No. A-5-VEN-22-0042
Proposed Amendment No. LCP-5-VEN-23-0037-1
Dear Coastal Commissioners and Staff:
Your Executive Director appealed the Venice Dell Median Project and cited numerous concerns that align with those of the concerned community. After 6 notices of incomplete application, we do not understand the rush to have the coastal hearings in December – – for the largest and most contentious project ever proposed in Venice, which is also in the most protected area, the dual coastal zone – – before it finishes going through the proper City processes and is heard by the City’s Transportation Commission and City Council.
Please respect the importance of public participation and delay the hearings until the City process is complete.
Sincerely,
Since our last update:
We agreed to withdraw our appeal on the CEQA case as the financial demands were becoming unrealistic. The large “pro bono” law firm working for the developers was charitable to the developers while demanding we pay a significant amount of their costs. It wasn’t feasible for a small community organization to continue that particular battle.
We felt comfortable with this decision knowing our desired result in the DDA case was already achieved when the City acknowledged in front of the judge that it would follow City code and take the project to the City Transportation Commission (a step that was skipped in the original process and called out in our lawsuit). The City also agreed it would share the re-use analysis calling out the risks of the project (an analysis we identified as having been commissioned by the city but never shared with the public or City Council) before the actual lease was “conveyed”.
Basically, this means we’re holding the City and Developers accountable with a judge as our witness! The support and attention called to our issues made the time in court well spent. We may have lost the case but we feel we won that war. Here’s a quote from the Judge:
5-5-24 Trial Transcript. Judge Chalfant to the Coalition’s Attorney, Jamie Hall:
Now, the City still must guarantee Coastal Commission that it will build, own and operate the new public parking garage at the center of the affordable housing project in order to replace the existing parking.
The City has removed the mechanical lifts, but the parking remains infeasible as beach visitors will be co-mingled with the parking for the residential and commercial uses of the project. It is unclear why the project wouldn’t be developed with the housing separate from the parking structure, leaving beach access visible, welcoming and available to all, rather than awkwardly hidden inside costly housing units.
Also, in the latest developments the Developers now have a new architect as their original “star-chitect”, Eric Owen Moss, didn’t qualify the project for certain affordable housing funding (as we first pointed out in our May 22, 2024 blast. Brooks and Scarpa are on board to clean up the Moss mess and presumably the project will get the much needed funding.
Just last week, developers Venice Community Housing and Hollywood Community Housing, audaciously submitted a significantly revised project to Coastal Commission that has never gone to the public or to City Council.
You can see the new plans at our updated website.
Stay tuned for an email outlining the many concerns that will need to be shared after we know the timing of these hearings.
It is widely known that the most controversial projects are pushed through under cover of the holiday months, when the least amount of people are available to participate. We’ll need all hands on deck as we enter this critical time to assure we are all heard and represented!
With appreciation-
The Team at Safe Coastal Development