Residents of Westchester Are Being Punished for Playa Vista

The first part of the article made horse sense.

The second part of the article was different horse stuff.

I won’t say what it is.

But it is appropriate that it appears at the back end of the article.

As to the horse sense, I understand Councilmen Weissman and O’Leary’s reasons for not wanting to reopen the Entrada Office Tower matter.

Not wanting to expose the city to costly litigation may be a smart move from the city’s point of view. The idea that when the lawsuit comes, the Carlyle Group will be responsible for funding the court costs makes economic sense in the short run.

But it may be more costly in the long run because we don’t know what we are getting into with a project such as this. Also, sometimes you need to do something that might not make economic sense but is the right thing to do.

The City Council speaks as if the members don’t approve of the project, but they want citizens to fund the suit to stop the project.

If the Council wants citizens to initiate a lawsuit, they should consider returning the $5,000 they took from the group that filed the needless appeal. It was legal to take the money, but it was a bit unethical because the item was going to the Council without an official appeal.

The Council’s comments on the project also show that I was correct in my belief that the project was being sped through the approval cycle before the new Council was seated.

What Was the Motivation?

It would be interesting to know why. Was it being pushed by the outgoing Council or the staff?

Before the April 14/15 vote, members of our City Council met with representatives of the Los Angeles Councilman representing Westchester and residents of Westchester.

I and a couple of other Culver City residents had been invited to the meeting by the residents of Westchester.

These Westchester residents then had to uninvite us because they were told by the Councilmen from Culver City that they wanted to meet only with Westchester residents.

I wonder what they wanted to say to Westchester residents that couldn’t be said to Culver City residents.

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The part of the article that was different horse stuff was when Mayor Malsin gave his reasons for affirming Entrada.

It is near other office buildings, and it is far from residents. It is in a reasonable location for an office building.

Nothing more.

Still Trying to Convince

This is the same old horse stuff that the city has been giving us, trying to convince us that this was the reasonable location in the city for such a development.

It may be a reasonable location for an office building but not for this office building. There is no reasonable location for this office building anywhere in Culver City.

It is way too tall.

I drive home from work on the northbound 405.

As I get near the Entrada site, I am amazed how the Radisson Hotel towers over the buildings near it.

It is hard to believe that it will be dwarfed by the Entrada building.

True Neighbors

The Entrada building is going to look like that building at Palms and the 405, towering over its neighbors.

The Entrada site is really not near other office buildings. Its neighbors are a hotel and a market.

On the other side of the hotel is an office building that appears to be about four stories high.

Across the street is the mini mall (containing Dinah’s restaurant), a Time-Warner parking lot, and a building under construction that appears to be two or three stories in height.

Nearby Residents

And the proposed site is near residents, just not Culver City residents. It is slightly more than 500 feet from the homes of Westchester residents.

I believe the members of the last Council let their dislike for the Los Angeles Councilman who represents the area cloud their judgment in approving this project.

The residents of the Westchester bluff are being punished for Playa Vista.

And we will all be punished in the future when the area becomes overdeveloped.
We had the chance to set an example for reasonable development, but chose not to.