Moran Rips LaPointe, Charging Defamation, and Sunkist Park Building Opponents Rise up

A moment later, the newly formed Sunkist Park group, the Culver Alliance for Quality of Life, made an explosive debut appearance in Council Chambers.

Forty members cheered the group’s first public attempt to squash the controversial redevelopment of South Sepulveda Boulevard.

Seeking to attach an exclamation point to its case, the group presented a thousand-name anti-build petition to the City Council.

It was Mr. Moran’s written bombshell message, though, that established a sizzling pace for the rest of the night.

Recent History

The tall, slender, long-haired founder and director of the Edge Competitive Swim Club most recently was in the news last autumn. A bitter tug-of-war with a Santa Monica-based team over practice time at The Plunge spilled over, acrimoniousy, into Council Chambers.

Identifying his group as the deserving Establishment party, the home team, Mr. Moran dueled for weeks, off-stage, with Mr. LaPointe before a peaceful — but evidently not enduring — compromise between Edge and City Hall was attained.

His Profile

At the outset, the swim maven sought to establish his bona fides.

“I have been doing business in Culver City for over seven years,” Mr. Moran said last night. “Literally hundreds of Culver City families have entrusted their children to me.”

After briefly recounting his backstory, he arrived at his mission.

Claiming Defamation

“I am here tonight representing myself as a Culver City business owner,” Mr. Moran said. “The Director of Parks and Recreation, Bill LaPointe, has been libeling and slandering me. This defamation must stop. I am informed through multiple sources that Bill LaPointe traded and disseminated memos, which framed me in a very negative light, to both the Recreation Commission and the City Council.

“I have not seen or read these specific memos. My inquiries into them have gone unanswered.

“I understand they include details from an April 17 reprimand sent by LaPointe to me.”

‘Out of Context’

Mr. Moran asserted that contents of the reprimand “were grossly out of context,” and the memo “whitewashes negative behavior by Recreation staff. I have responded in writing and in meetings to that reprimand on several occasions, to no avail.

“In addition, I now have reason to believe that more recent negative behavior by Recreation staff is again being whitewashed and spun by Bill LaPointe to further assassinate my character.

They Were There

“I have eyewitness statements regarding these incidents. I have filed a Public Records request for all of the above.

“Bill LaPointe’s actions are hurting my business in the following ways. It is negatively affecting Culver City officials’ opinions of me and Edge Swim Club. These leaders are responsible for making fair and unbiased decisions. In my business, reputation is critical to success.

How He Is Hurt

“These actions are increasingly time-consuming to defend, preventing me from conducting critical recruiting and revenue-generating activities as we enter peak season.

“It has harmed my ability to negotiate a rental schedule that allows my business to continue to thrive and grow.”

After alluding to a months-long delay in gaining schedule confirmation, Mr. Moran asked the City Council to influence Mr. LaPointe to “cease and desist from this character defamation.”

Mr. LaPointe did not return calls for comment.

Heat Was Building

Even with this dramatic of an opening, tension continued to spiral when the opponents of the proposed South Sepulveda reconstruction stepped forward.

The passion displayed by the permanently passionate young Mr. Moran did not have a chance to diminish.

Nine different members of the Culver Alliance paraded to the microphone.

Two Themes

They voiced their strenuous opposition to the developer Bob Champion’s sprawling proposal for reconfiguring the west side of South Sepulveda Boulevard, from Jefferson to Sawtelle.

Their theme never varied — the 12 1/2-acre mixed-use teardown/rebuild is too tall, at five stories, and too dense, with 800 condos planned.

Organized a fortnight ago by 15-year Sunkist Park resident John Wacker, the Culver Alliance, with business owner/property owner/homeowner categories, hopes to halt, not just slow or curtail the Champion proposal.

A Hometown Portrait

“Culver City residents choose to live here,” he said, “because this is a unique small town. It provides a reprieve from the surrounding metropolis, yet is minutes from the greatest selection of beaches and venues in the world.

“The contrast between our local environment of large lot sizes, free streets, ease of mobility, independent businesses and sky views with that of an over- populated, congested, closed-in metropolis — in a sea of cloned business establishments — is becoming greater as time goes by.”

Mr. Wacker said the Alliance is making two requests of the City Council, which is due to hold a decisive vote on the project later this summer, on a date still unspecified.

Discourage Developer

“Vote not to allow Bob Champion to proceed with his proposed project to any degree, and begin anew with input from the Planning Commission, residents and business owners to strategize how future developments will be planned and what the objectives are.”

Chances of the Alliance group convincing the City Council to reject City Hall’s showcase redevelopment are lengthy in the minds of some City Hall insiders.

Two Main Reasons

Part of the reason is the short time between the group’s formation and the Council’s determinative vote. The other looming reason is the yawning scope of the project that will take a huge human crane to bring down.

Alliance members were heartened last week when the Planning Commission indicated an interest in revisiting aspects of the zoning code regarding allowable density and height limitations.

About Timing

If there are changes coming,though, will they be made in time to block South Sepulveda?

Although they are little more than murmurings as spring gets ready to morph into summer, the opponents of the project have opponents.

At this point, they are furtive and underground. Although complainants declined to allow their names to be used, they said that Sunkist residents and the business owners “should allow the legal process to take its course. They should not try to disrupt it.”

Business Data

Peter Messinger, owner of The Aquarium, located in the final of four phases of the proposed plan, has been surveying the affected businesses in his neighborhood.

He told the City Council that a lopsided majority of the businesses, 55, are family owned. Of those, 42 are owned by first-generation immigrants or minorities, Mr. Messinger said.

The Wrong Market

He pooh-poohed claims by Mr. Champion and City Hall that all of the 77 businesses that want to be relocated will receive assistance.

No market for them, he said, cynically.

Scoring the developer, Mr. Messinger said that Mr. Champion has offered business owners two options — “both are unrealistic. He knows 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 family-owned businesses.”

No Room?

Besides, Mr. Messinger added, Culver City is far too stable of a community for such a massive relocation to be realistic.

“At any one time,” he said, “no more than four or five businesses are available for lease in Culver City.”

More is gray about South Sepulveda than black-and-white, a condition that may favor opponents. Alliance members promise to be voluble, a strategy that sometimes is a ticket to victory.

Meanwhile, Council members and City Hall officials have emphasized for months that South Sepulveda is not a done deal, merely in the exploratory stages. In spite of their skepticism, this assertion may yet rally opponents.

For Newcomers

COUNCIL NOTES — Important: The City Council has scheduled one more budget study session, at 6 p.m., Thursday, in Council Chambers. One Councilperson promised “fireworks”…