In today’s fast-paced Culver City world, residents don’t have to wait long for history to repeat.
At the top of the City Council’s agenda at 7 o’clock on Monday night in Council Chambers is the latest proposed development that has captured the ire of neighbors.
Just like last week and last month in Council Chambers, a large, noisy, unhappy and probably sassy crowd will turn out to protest a 4/5-story business condo building proposed by Rethink Development on the site of 8665 Hayden Pl., in the Hayden Tract.
Strongly endorsed weeks ago by the advisory Planning Commission, an appeal of that verdict has been filed, and the Council will study the official objection.
Builder Greg Reitz appears to be of two minds about the approaching drama and perceived mob-style mentality that has dominated recent City Council meetings.
Mindful of the residents’ so-far successful protest of an intended two-dozen condo mixed-use building at 4043 Irving Pl., about to enter its second calendar year, Mr. Reitz said his project “is different in a couple of respects.”
The objections in both cases are common and widely known:
• Too tall
• Too dense
• Too close to my house
• Too much new traffic on already-crowded streets
“Our building is sufficiently different from 4043,” Mr. Reitz said, that he is fairly optimistic he and partner Steve Edwards will not be forced into a similar lengthy, and expensive, delay.
“Our process for working with the neighborhood has been different,” he said. “There has been a lot of input by neighbors, and I believe we have addressed all of their reasonable concerns.
“The efforts that we have made, I think, will be appreciated.”
On another hand, Mr. Reitz has been closely tracking events in Council Chambers the last half-dozen Monday nights. He knows what kind of contrary atmosphere to expect.
“I am not excited,” he told the newspaper, “about the prospect of going into another angry situation.”
