After three hours of hearing discontented residents deliver a barrage of speeches aimed at Champions proposed development, the Citizens Advisory Committee voted to suspend any further meetings.
The Defining Statement
According to Loni Anderson, CAC member, We recommended that the city develop a Specific Plan for the area. This was described as a process that Culver City residents would take part in.
As the leader of The Culver Alliance for Quality of Life, I believe we have won the first round in stopping the Champion development for now.
However, this is only the first step in a long battle to change existing planning codes.
We want to make sure that Bob Champion, or any other developer, can never build this dense, high or huge again in Culver City.
A Ray of Brilliance
Loni Anderson, CAC member, was brilliant in her motion to recommend that the city develop a specific plan for the area.
She also was able to see through the rhetoric, and she succinctly stated that the three development projects that Champion has worked on in the San Diego Gas Light District, in Pasadena and in Burbank did not back up against residential homes.
Of Differences
Thus, they are dissimilar projects. They do not compare apples to apples.
Also, all of the other developments were done among other high-rise buildings not in residential areas.
Marianne Kim, CAC member, also presented her findings from interviewing all three cities with Champion multi-use developments.
Few Parallels
She found that though all of the references were favorable to Champion, only one involved a purchase from multiple owners and did not displace as many businesses.
This is unlike Culver City where 70 businesses and approximately nine land owners are involved.
In Pasadena, no businesses that were displaced ended up returning to the development.
Champions Options
Peter Messinger, owner of The Aquarium store and representative of The Culver Alliance business owners, said that Bob Champion has offered business owners two options, both of which are unrealistic.
He knows that the small businesses could never afford the $4 to $5 per square foot after he builds.
This would devastate and close almost all of the more than 50 family-owned businesses along Sepulveda/Jefferson. The other option offered by the Redevelopment Agency is to relocate the businesses somewhere else in Culver City.
It Wont Happen
However, it is virtually impossible to relocate 70 businesses.
Throughout any given year, only 10 properties are available in the 1000 to 1500 square foot range. The affected stores would simply go out of business and Culver City would lose the independent businesses that give Culver City its personable small town personality.
Getting Organized
Peter is working to form a Sepulveda Corridor business owners group patterned after the downtown group that is committed to improving their properties along the corridor independently.
Chris Georges, representative from Harvey Capital Management, owners of the CompUSA building, and Alliance representative of the property owners, said, I am upset that everyone talks about this project as being a done deal. Its far from done. Its just proposed. Champion is only presenting options A, B or C when what the citizens and property owners want is Option D – none of the above.
Opposing Views
Ed Ryba, Sunkist Park homeowner, expressed his outrage. At a previous meeting, he said, someone brought up the subject of oil pipelines in the alley between our homes and the proposed development. A man by the name of Max Paetzold, a city traffic consultant and former city employee, said, That pipeline has been steamcleaned, and it is full of fibre optics now.
Thats true…as far as it goes. However, I have a letter here, and a stack of pipeline maps at home, from the Exxon/Mobil Pipeline Co. The letter states that there is an active 16-inch oil pipeline in the alley.
Pipeline Data
I was told by David Kingston of the Exxon/Mobil Pipeline Co. that this is a 16-inch high-pressure 160-degree crude oil pipeline which, according to Dave, is the main feeder line from Exxon/Mobils Bakersfield oil facilities and oil fields to their refinery in Torrance.
In Mr. Paetzolds statements, he also neglected to mention that this pipeline pays $1.2 million a year to the city, just for the privilege of being there.
Culver City residents can join the Culver Alliance by calling me at 323.855.7190 or jbwacker@verizon.net. Or they can sign the petition or send a comment at www.ipetitions.com/petition/Stopchampiondevelopmentjune2007.
