Memo to City Hall: Didn’t You Hear Us When We Said ‘56 Feet. No More’?

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I attended the Culver City Planning Commission meeting that dealt with the Entrada Office Tower project.

It was a long meeting, but at least I was more comfortable in blue jeans and a polo shirt than the developers’ army in their dark wool uniforms.

At 1a.m., the Commission finally reached a number of non-decision decisions.

I will tell you why I call them non-decision decisions.

Hurray for Good Faith

First they certified the Environmental Impact Report. This certification doesn’t mean that it is factual. It only means that the developer made a good faith effort to be accurate.

This is similar to the self esteem programs prevalent in our schools today:

One Planning Commissioner even commented that he had some reservations about the items but it was late, and the City Council will eventually make the decision anyway.

I don’t know why I spent seven hours sitting in the Council Chambers that night. I should have just waited until it came before the City Council and the decision was going to be made.

SOC It to me. Just Kidding

One of the items being sent on to the City Council was a Statement of Overriding Considerations (SOC).

This is an appropriate acronym because the city is going to SOC it to us.

Under an SOC, it seems that they admit there is a problem but the benefits override the costs.

If this sounds familiar, it is because the same idea was applied in the mixed use ordinance.

There it was called community benefits.

No matter what you call it, it is spelled l-o-o-p-h-o-l-e.

Green Plus Green

And what are the benefits that are going to override the problems?

Money.

When our city talks about a green project, it appears they are talking about money and not about the environment.

And what did I learn.

I learned that I need to read our city initiatives more carefully.

Back about 1990, I thought I was voting to limit building heights in Culver City to 56 feet. But apparently I was voting to limit building heights in Culver City to 56 feet except in Redevelopment Area Number 1.

Who Knows the Language?

The average citizen doesn’t speak redevelopment.

But we do know what we voted for.

One of the Commissioners pointed out that the project was on the edge of Culver City, not near any of our residential areas.

It appears they have no concern for the people living in Westchester. There were a number of Westchester residents at the meeting but I could not tell who they were unless they got up and spoke and stated that they lived in Westchester.

They looked just like us.

Maybe if we are good neighbors to them on this project, they will be good neighbors to us when there are projects proposed in their area.

She Saw Scant Resistance

I was also surprised by the comments from another one of the Commissioners.

She stated that only three Culver City residents spoke in opposition to the project, so Culver City residents must like the project.

I guess she needs to see the villagers storming the castle with torches before she will believe there is opposition.

While only five spoke, I saw about a dozen residents of Culver City in attendance. Two told me they sent letters in opposition and one had spoken at the January meeting.

Also, the Westchester residents were doing such a good job of presenting arguments against the project, we don’t need more people presenting the same argument.

My Wish

I have been a resident for almost 40 years, and I know a lot of people in the City. They know where I stand on overdevelopment.

Recently, I have been unable to go to the market without people stopping me and asking about the Entrada project.

They do not believe the city will allow a building four times taller that the height limit they passed in the initiative. Now that they see there is a real possibility this tall building could be approved, I believe they will let the City Council know how they feel about it.

She also seemed to indicate that it was all right for Culver City to create more traffic in the area because the city of Los Angeles had created so much more traffic.

Save the Date

My first thought was, I wondered if her mother ever asked her, “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump off the bridge, too?”

But maybe that is just something mothers say to sons.

The more she talked, the more she sounded like an adolescent telling mom that yes, she did it, but her brother did worse.

This is a real adult approach to decision making.

Why should we care what Los Angeles does?

We should do what is right.

There was a lot of talk that evening that by having a green building, maybe other developments in the area would follow our lead and develop green buildings.

If we can lead in developing green buildings, why can’t we lead in developing low traffic buildings?

And what do I hope to see happen with the residents of Culver City? I want the villagers (the residents of Culver City) to storm the castle (City Hall) with torches (letters, phone calls, and email).

I would like to see them inform the city that when we, the villagers, passed the 56-foot height limit, we intended it for the entire city.

I want to see them keep informed on this project.

I want to see them prepared for when this item comes before the City Council sometime in the spring. I want to see them fill the Council Chambers.

I want to see more Culver City residents than Westchester residents there.