Will newly planned upscale apartment developments in Palms force out long-time residents and people who can't afford increased rents?

That was the question brought forth on March 1 at the monthly meeting of the Palms Neighborhood Council and its governing body, the Representative Assembly.

Assembly member Alejandro Soschin posed it during a discussion of a proposed 85-unit apartment-commercial project planned for the 3400 block of Motor Ave. between Woodbine and Palms Blvd.

"What I'm seeing in Palms," he said, "is a lot of new construction . . . that's bringing a modern look to the community, but I'm concerned about at what cost."

He said he was worried that "change and modernization" will come "at the cost of displacing some of our residents who have grown up here and whose leaving would be a big shock."

"I think that in five or ten years people will not recognize Palms at the rate we're changing our units , but at what cost? . . . Do we just want to say, 'That's the market forces, that's the reality,' or as a neighborhood council and as stakeholders is there something we can do about it?"

The answer for the 3400 block of Motor Ave. was — nothing.

Architect John Reed, who is designing the 85-unit building for developer James Frost, said that if Frost had decided to do low-cost housing he could build more than a hundred units.

"He's elected not to do that," Reed said. It would be "too dense for the site" making all the units too small and compromising the project.

He said the one-bedroom units in the building will probably rent for $1,200 to $1,300 a month and that "if someone is looking to spend less rent they'll look in older buildings."

There will be two-bedroom rental units in the structure as well.

Len Nguyen, field deputy for City Council Member Bill Rosendahl, suggested the Palms Neighborhood Council weigh in on a proposed revision of the Del Rey-Mar Vista-Palms Master Plan as a way to handle some of the concerns. [Land-use map below.]

He noted that all of Motor Ave. is now zoned for commercial use and, challenging the Palms leaders to "imagine commercial development all the way down to Venice Blvd.," suggested they take the lead in developing a "pedestrian-orientation zone" along Motor.

Secretary George Garrigues wondered if the building's 175-space parking garage could be used during the day by the teachers at Palms Elementary School, who are now forced to park their cars on the school playground. Reed said that might be worked out after the building is constructed.

Palms President Todd Robinson aligned himself with Soschin's concerns, as did Treasurer Asad Yavari and stakeholders Terry Robinson and Cliff Cheng.

Robinson referred the matter to the Neighborhood Council's Land-Use and Development Committee, which he said would meet "within the month."