[Editor’s Note: Regarding the following letter, Culver City’s year-long Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with the developer Bob Champion is scheduled to be formally terminated at tonight’s 7 o’clock City Council meeting at City Hall.]
I return after a two-week vacation to discover that several things had happened in the city while I was gone.
First, our 10-month battle with the Champion Development Co. is apparently over.
I say “apparently.”
I would like to think that my parents named me after the brilliant Thomas Aquinas, but I think I more resemble the Apostle, Doubting Thomas.
I will believe it when I see the stake in its heart. I think it is important to point out that we in the neighborhood are not angry with Bob Champion for his attempt to over develop the west side of South Sepulveda Boulevard.
It is kind of like that old story about the scorpion that hitched a ride across a river on the back of a turtle. About halfway across, he stings the turtle. As they are about to sink under the water, the turtle asks, “Now we are both going to die. Why did you do that?”
The scorpion responded, “Because I am a scorpion.”
We are angry with the people in positions of responsibility in the city, both elected and employed. We rely on them to protect the neighborhoods from overdevelopment. We in the neighborhood know who brought the Champion Development to Culver City. We will remember who tried to bring this disaster to our neighborhood. And while we are not angry at Mr. Champion, we will fight him or any other scorpion who attempts to overdevelop in our neighborhood.
The second thing that happened was the approval of the project at 9900 Culver Blvd. by the City Council.
What concerns me is not the approval of the project but the avoidance of the established process for project approval. This project had been denied by the Planning Commission. The developer appealed the denial to the City Council. This is part of the established process.
But the project that was approved by the City Council was significantly different from the project denied by the Planning Commission. I believe that the proper action would have been for the City Council to uphold the denial and send the new project to the Planning Commission for review. Logic might say that this would be a waste of time. Why have the Planning Commission review it and possibly deny it, knowing that the City Council would approve it on appeal.
Perhaps during their review, the Planning Commission might find something that would change the opinion of the City Council. There may be items overlooked in this quick review.
The residents are happy that they will get a 15-foot fence to keep prying eyes from the development out of their yards. This fence might keep other things out of their yards, like sunshine.
But more importantly, sending it back to the Planning Commission would maintain the integrity of the process. We would not have set precedence that a developer could bypass the Planning Commission and go directly to the City Council for approval.
There are established processes, and they should be followed.
Tom Supple, a Culver City resident, may be reached at tomjsup@ca.rr.com