With the Redevelopment Agency getting ready to vote on developer Bob Champion’s grand proposal for South Sepulveda Boulevard sometime in July, Planning Commissioner John Kuechle asked staff how much time it would take to amend the level in the city’s density ordinance.
What Is Quickly?
Staff replied that it could probably be done quickly. Mr. Kuechle pressed for a more accurate answer. He finally was told it would take about four to five months.
(I guess that’s quick by government standards.)
The 65 units per acre ordinance passed in the 1990s is definitely too high for today’s standards. It probably was passed as a compromise.
This level of density could almost be seen as a gimmick by our city as an advertisement to developers that our city is still a friendly and viable place for redevelopment.
Think About This
We should keep in mind that other cities around us have much higher density thresholds, making the developers’ profit margins better.
If we were to make our maximum density threshold too low, developers might not even consider our city for projects.
Turning Loss into Victory
Knowing full well, that as proposed, the Sepulveda Gateway Project would never, ever have a snowball’s chance in hell in passing local scrutiny, the Redevelopment Agency might just be playing a “density numbers game” with Sunkist Park homeowners.
By even thinking about considering the high-density, massive 12.5 acre project involving 800 new housing units, Mr. Champion and the Agency may seem to “lose” the long, hard fought battle with local residents on scaling back the project.
How to Win
But, they might ultimately win the war by building at the lower, still acceptable levels originally agreed upon by both the Agency and Mr. Champion at the project’s inception years ago.
The Agency probably already knows Mr. Champions preferred parameters in building this project from earlier talks, and it will remain true to his vision.
By lowering the proposed levels of density, though, the Agency would be seen as listening to, and bending to, the will of the people.
All sides the Agency, Mr. Champion and the community still could emerge feeling like victors. If the housing density were reduced by, say, one-third, to 45 units per acre, each party could brag. The community gained the reduction it sought. The Agency, like good government, listened to the public, and Mr. Champion still would walk away with a profit, albeit slightly shrunken.
