The Right Answer
You have proposed a five-story building with four floors containing 800 condos. What if it was three floors with 600 condos or two floors with 400 condos? What is economically feasible?
An appropriate, and probably correct, answer would have been that he would need to go back and look at the numbers.
But Mr. Champions answer was that what was economically feasible was what was allowed by the citys codes.
Thinking Logically
If what was economically feasible was what was allowed by the code, then the city would have nothing but 56-foot developments.
What his answer indicates is that he is not interested in working with the residents, only in maximizing his profits.
When asked a straight-forward question, he responds with a less than straight-forward answer.
Opposing Stories
And this is the way it has been from the beginning. In his first newspaper interview about the project, he talked about how, after being stuck in traffic on the 405 Freeway, he ended up driving on Sepulveda through Culver City. He said he saw a development possibility on South Sepulveda.
Now his story is that he was asked by someone in the city to propose a development on South Sepulveda. Those are two interesting stories. I wonder which is correct.
A Scare Tactic
Mr. Champion also used exaggerations to scare the residents as to what could happen if he wasnt allowed to develop the project.
He stated that his proposal stepped the highest part of the development away from the residential property. He said that another developer, not as nice as him, could come in and develop to 56 feet at the property line.
The facts are that the city codes require developments to step the 56-foot height away from the residential property.
On Second Thought
After having been called on the misstatement, he now has drawings showing how he steps the heights away from the residents farther than required by the codes.
He has talked about how the traffic is impacted because there are now 30 driveways into the project area. He suggests that this would not change if there were multiple developers.
Counting Creatively?
He says his project would have fewer driveways to assist the flow of traffic on Sepulveda. To say that stating there are 30 driveways in the project area is a half truth that would be misleading.
It would be more descriptive to say that it is a twice truth because the number he is giving is about twice the actual number of driveways into the project area. But saying there are 30 is far more impressive.
Playing Fair?
At the request of a Segrell resident, the architect took photographs from her backyard and produced an artists rendition of the view from the backyard. When questioned why the architect chose to create a view that was at an angle from the backyard instead of straight out, Mr. Champion stated that it was done to give a perspective.
Yes, it was done to give a perspective that showed half the impact the project would have if viewed straight out. He corrected this misleading drawing at the next meeting.
Research Department
At last weeks meeting, we were supposed to hear about other projects Mr. Champion has developed.
Instead of getting projects that were similar to the South Sepulveda project, we were informed about projects that were not in residential areas.
How Can You Compare?
And because they were not in residential areas, there were no residents to give their impressions.
We learned that Mr. Champion worked well with city staff, but that is unimportant to us. We would like to know how he works with neighbors who are impacted by his project.
A Mans Reputation
About the most factual thing he has said is that he is a consensus builder.
I have lived through four traffic mitigation programs in Sunkist Park. All have resulted in a Balkanization of the neighborhood.
Residents on one street wouldnt talk to residents on another street.
True to His Word, Sort of
But with his South Sepulveda proposal, Mr. Champion has built a consensus. It is a consensus of a vast majority of the residents that the project is too massive, too tall and brings too much traffic into the area.
And I cannot believe all the confusion at the end of the meeting.
About Definitions
Sol Blumenfeld, the Community Development Department Director, described what a specific area plan was.
Citizens Advisory Committee member Loni Anderson made a motion that the committee recommend to the City Council that a specific area plan be created for the South Sepulveda area.
Which Is It?
One committee member thought the motion was too broad. Another thought it was too narrow.
I believe that the motion was the correct one. There was no more data that the developer was going to give the committee or the community.
If Mr. Champion intends to develop to the code limits, then we will change the limits.
Yes or No
If the individual committee members believed, as they have been told by the residents, that the project was too massive, they could vote yes on the motion. This would be asking the City Council to make code changes in the area which would downscale the project.
If the individual committee members believed that the project wasnt too massive, they could vote no on the motion.
Then they could make a motion to send the project to the City Council for approval. The comment was made that the motion received halfhearted approval. Anyone who gave it halfhearted approval was not doing his or her job as a member of the committee.
Turning to the Agency
We will now be looking to the Redevelopment Agency for their action on the issue. Residents from other parts of the City should also contact the members of the Redevelopment Agency. Creating a specific area plan for the South Sepulveda area means that other areas, like Washington Boulevard or Culver Boulevard, could be developed under these unacceptable codes.
The Ideal
The best action for the city would be to create a specific set of codes that apply to our commercial zone that abut residential zones. This would eliminate the need to create a number of specific area plans.
