First, Transportation Commission-
For those of you who joined us downtown at Transportation Commission, thank you! You showed up for our community, for all of Venice and for all Angelenos and visitors to the beach, and we are truly grateful!
Transportation Commission was both impressive and inspiring. To finally have our concerns (and a few additional concerns) addressed by true transportation experts in a transparent presentation is a demonstration of how the City process was intended to operate. The developers’ attorneys argued the Commission had no business reviewing a new parking structure. This is simply not true- it is one of the primary functions of the Commission and a reason our DDA lawsuit challenged the City when they had not completed this step.
We applaud the DOT and the Transportation Commission for their thorough and thoughtful review of this rare and valuable piece of Venice property and commend their common sense findings and recommendations on what best benefits all of Venice and Los Angeles.
We also appreciate that despite a very busy City Council day our Councilwoman, Traci Park, made time to come to the hearing and comment on behalf of her district.
And then there was Coastal Commission-
Not fun, but we were prepared for Coastal to approve the project no matter what. The project was even posted on their website as if already approved, with a fact sheet saying they have “never said no to an affordable housing project”. Despite this, we had a great turnout, both in person and online, to take our efforts through to the end of the Coastal process. Thank you to all those who made the trip to Newport and called in on zoom. Many powerful statements were made for the record and our speakers did an amazing job!
Coastal’s decision was disheartening as it seems they are prioritizing affordable housing at any cost over protecting and enhancing access to our coast.
Where we are now-
For the moment, the project has been effectively stopped- so what’s next? We can assume there will be lawsuits and back room maneuvers coming from the developers and their “pro bono” attorneys.
Procedurally, the Transportation Commission’s decision can only be overturned by a two-thirds majority at City Council. A Council member would have to file a motion against the decision. The timeframe for such a motion is within 5 City Council meetings. We think that with the holiday break, that should bring us to January 8th. It’s hard to believe our City Council would not support such a smart parking and housing alternative that is strongly supported by our district.
Here’s an article from the Westside Current about both hearings.
For now, let’s take a deep breath and enjoy the moment… and hope it lasts!
With Appreciation-
The Team at Safe Coastal Development