Residents in the general area of southern Culver City were banking on precision and literalness when they went to court in an attempt to kill the towering Entrada Office Tower project, adjacent to the Radisson Hotel.
Instead, the group, which chose a broad-sounding name to give the appearance of wide support, United Neighbors of the Westside, lost its 10-month-old case last week when the judge determined that reasonableness would prevail.
And so, the 12-story tower, atop a parking structure, will reach close to 200 feet into the sky, against the wishes of some residents near the Westchester-Culver City border.
The judge concurred with City Hall that if the planned project had been reduced to what was called small or middling sizes, neither Entrada nor the city would have been able to meet each other’s objectives.
“The court finds that the decision to create a ‘landmark building,’ permit the ‘best use’ of the underutilized property and improve the conditions in the redevelopment area near the 405 Freeway and adjacent to an existing nine-story building by approving the project, is supported by sufficient findings that are based on substantial evidence in the record,” Judge Thomas I McKnew wrote.
If the size of the project were significantly reduced, said the judge, City Hall’s goal of stimulating redevelopment, making “contributions toward needed public improvement” and increased employment opportunities could not be met.
Ifn that case, he said, neither city nor the builder to reach the site’s economic potential “to the same degree as the project.”
While both Mayor Scott Malsin and City Councilman Andy Weissman said they were not surprised by the ruling, Mr. Weissman added a historical note.
“Through Culver City’s history, it has undertaken a whole host of discretionary acts, and to my knowledge, this is the first lawsuit that has been filed,” he said.
Entrada will be built in a commercialized neighborhood where, Mayor Malsin pointed out today, it will be surrounded by office buildings that are even taller.
In his 8-page opinion, Judge McKnew covered several crucial points.
Entrada will be built in a commercialized neighborhood where it will be surrounded by office buildings that are even taller.
Residents contended that the city’s 56-foot building maximum had been clearly violated.
The petitioners’ argument that the project violated at least the spirit if not the letter of the law was ill-founded, the judge said. Measure 1, passed by voters after the 56-foot policy was adopted in 1990 “expressly permits an exception for a building in certain redevelopment areas.”
Judge McKnew buttressed his opinion with the following conclusion:
“The city’s interpretation of its own Municipal Code should be accorded great weight, especially if it is of long standing,” in this case 19 years.
The udge took into consideration that City Hall had made a number of exceptions previously to its maximum building height.
Not only was the proposed building so tall that it would block the view of nearby residents, the sheer mass of Entrada was outsized, United Neighbors charged.
He could accept their argument, said Judge McKnew, if the proposed 342,000 square foot building were the focus of the project.
But the density is only one of 19 objectives of the builders, he said.
