With a Boost from Blumenfeld, City Council Chooses the Lucky 7 Projects

Of the 15 redevelopment projects in various stages of life spread across Culver City, two calls were to be made:

Which ones were far enough along to deserve the courtesy of being allowed to continue to operate under the “old” and looser outgoing guidelines applicable to mixed-use redevelopments?

Conversely, which projects were deemed less mature — “not as far into the pipeline” — and therefore destined to be forced to build smaller and lower once tighter building restrictions are decided on Oct. 8?

Three, Not Two

With two verdicts to be rendered, the City Council, typically, took three votes in foot-stomping style to amplify their message.

After almost evenly dividing the projects, putting 7 in one category, 8 in the other, some Council members feared this would send a cloudy message to developers that City Hall could not make up its mind whether it was pro-development, anti, or somewhere in the itchy middle.

To underscore the Council’s bare majority sentiment that Culver City remains open, as usual, for business with developers, members voted 3 to 2 to state that there is not and will not be a moratorium. Mayor Alan Corlin and Councilman Gary Silbiger dissented.

Fuzzy Days Are Over?

In reaching for a coda to apply to last night’s meeting, Councilman Steve Rose said:

“We are in the same place we were 2 months ago, but the fuzziness and the fear have been taken away.”

That was not a criticism but a compliment.

While the magical dimensions still have to be voted upon, said the Councilman, the once daunting task is beginning to look and to feel more manageable as the Council tackles one piece of the problem at a time.

Establishing new height and residential density limits for mixed-used projects (condos and commerce in the same facility) “is obviously a burning issue in this community,” Mr. Rose said. “We had another huge turnout. I counted 6 people who spoke in favor of a moratorium.”

What Developers Should Know

As Mr. Rose read the evening, the message was one of reassurance to builders. “We want them to know that Culver City is not closed to developers but is looking at what the rules are,” he said.

In the opinion of some Council members and others around City Hall this morning, a deep bow of credit for demystifying the revision of redevelopment ground rules goes to one man.

Kudos to Blumenfeld

What could have been a toweringly exasperating, complicated assignment for the Council — deciding which of the 15 projects, each packing dozens of peculiar, arcane nuances, fit into what category — was simplified and clarified by the much-praised new Community Development Director Sol Blumenfeld and his staff.

It would only be slightly hyperbolic to report that the Blumenfeld-and-staff groundwork reduced the Council’s task to secretary-level pressure, which is to say, hardly any.

“Over the last couple of months,” said a City Hall insider, “we have seen the skillsets in Sol that (City Manager) Jerry Fulwood detected when he hired him.”

She added that the ability of one person “to actually make, not just seem to make,” deep waters fordable “is what City Hall has been missing for a long time.”

Lifting a Burden

By smartly grouping the diverse, far-flung projects into 7 separate, easy-to-identify slots, Mr. Blumenfeld and his staff unburdened the City Council of a ponderous, time-eating chore.

By the time the case came to Council Chambers, Councilman Scott Malsin once again assumed charge. In the process of arguably establishing himself during the past year as the most inquisitive member of the Council, he has been the City Hall troop leader from the start in examining and overturning mixed-use dimensions.

The Genesis of Confidence

Armed with the confidence of the well-read and the thoroughly prepared, Mr. Malsin effectively gave direction to his teammates on the Council by winnowing the seven-times divided projects into two lists.

To set the scene, he came onto the stage directly after the aroused public had been heard. Instead of a single channel of neighbors protesting that projects were too tall and too dense, as usually is the case, nearly half of the pleas last night came from developers and architects. They said they came to City Hall in good faith, prepared to live by the rules in place at the time. They said it was unfair to upheave the most crucial regulations in the midst of their projects.

Mr. Malsin reviewed each project. He nominated the following 7 to be allowed to proceed under the original conditions:

9900 Culver Blvd.

12601 Washington Blvd., at Boise.

The remaining 8 will be subject to the dimensions the Council will determine in October:

The Washington/National Triangle

Encore Motel site, across from Costco.

The Council voted 4 to 1 to approve Mr. Malsin’s choices, with Mr. Silbiger demurring.

COUNCIL NOTES — The City Council’s traditional proclamation for the next 6 days to be designated Fiesta La Ballona Week lifted off much more quietly than usual. The crackling sounds of the mariachi band were missing due to a funding cutback.

The 57th annual Fiesta’s daily programming (at fiestalaballona.org) builds steadily until Friday afternoon and evening at Vets Park. Live musical and culinary entertainment, plus carnival rides, will enchant the thousands celebrating Culver City’s heritage into Sunday evening…