Pushing, and Pushing Back
City Hall says that the almost officially former Surfas property, near the corner of National and Washington boulevards, is intended to be part of the complex it will be developing to accommodate a proposed elevated light rail station. Mr. Surfas and others have said City Hall has been consistently vague about its light rail plans, without even a sketch available. Growing more agitated as he spoke, Mr. Surfas wanted to know why City Hall seemed to be in a hurry. We said to the city, Its not as if you have a project going and contractors standing by. He said the Jan. 15 vacate date was not a random choice plucked from the air. The city told us we were being treated just like everybody else, Mr. Surfas said. He argued that as one of Culver Citys most prominent businesses, it deserved more sensitive treatment than he said City Hall had been according him. In spite of what the city said, we are not like everybody else. Everybody else is not the size we are. Everybody else settled with the city weeks or months earlier. Those businesses already had made their determinations months before they moved. We dont know if we are going to move, and we are still fighting it. Unlike us, the other businesses the city was talking about did not have a (warehouse) across the street that depended on location.
Finding a Substitution
While he continues to try and find a warehouse replacement building near his retail outlet across the street from the warehouse, Mr. Surfas said the city recently offered him a new relocation option. He estimated it was the fifth or sixth that has been suggested. Physically, the property directly east suited Mr. Surfas needs. It was pitched to him as a lease-purchase arrangement. The trouble was, all of the options were controlled by the property owner, Bill Feldman, Mr. Surfas said. The two gentlemen previously had a professional arrangement, which, Mr. Surfas said, was not pleasant. He asserted that City Hall did not seek to capture Mr. Feldmans property for the potential light rail complex for several reasons. I was told, Mr. Surfas said, he was too rich and powerful, and he would fight too hard.
