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THIS IS THE REAL ESTATE PAGE
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IN THIS SITE
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REAL ESTATE STORIES
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MAPS
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This NONCOMMERCIAL site is a harmless hobby of George Garrigues, who has lived in the Westside Village district of Palms for 12 years. These pages have no connection with any organization.
Send him e-mail with corrections and comments.
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PALMS IS SUPPORTING KOR'S CONDOMINIUM PLAN AT VENICE-CLARINGTON-DUNN Story below
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Two hearings on Southwest Palms condo conversions
Story below
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Assembly recommends approval of Motor-Palms commercial-apartment bldg.
Hearing gets heated; landowner threatens suit against neighborhood representatives
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After a contentious public hearing, the Representative Assembly of the Palms Neighborhood Council on Aug. 2 recommended approval of a planned Motor-Palms commercial-apartment bldg. across the street from Palms Elementary School.
The vote by the council's governing body was 8-3.
The Assembly vote came despite complaints at two points during the meeting by Milton Sidley of Malibu, owner of the property just to the north of the planned development (where the Pacific Television Center is situated).
Sidley said the meeting was illegal because the exact address of the property had not been published in advance. The agenda item listed only "(1) Palms-Motor commercial-residential variance and other approvals (C-R Management)."
He threatened to sue the Assembly members for violation of the state's open-meetings law, known as the Brown Act.
Meeting Facilitator Lori Donahoo received the complaint and continued the meeting.
The Assembly's vote in favor of constructing the building came after the project backers went through the neighborhood to drum up support.
Developer Claire Heron also met with Steve Wallach of Cheviot Hills, a leader of the opposition from north of the Motor Ave. railroad overpass, in an attempt to iron out their differences.
The approval was made with conditions, which The Sun will print when the editor gets around to it. So check back.
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People speaking at the Council/Assembly meeting on Aug. 2 were Sidley, Claire Heron, Jim Norris, Joanie Mitchell, Chuck Ross, Lucie Bava, Terry Robinson, Nancy Samovar of the Westside Neighborhood Council traffic committee; Courtney Heron, Joshua Wilkinson, David Metzler, Rod Rodriguez, and John Manulis of the Motor Ave. Improvement Assn.
Speakers from Cheviot Hills opposed the project because of the perceived traffic consequences. People from Palms generally favored the addition of shops and restaurants "within walking distance."
In an earlier hearing, Heron told the Palms Land Use and Planning committee, which approved the project, that most of the perceived problems will be solved with the conditions under which she will develop the bldg.
But she said a demand by Wallach for an environmental-impact report, or EIR, would be "a deal-breaker" because of its cost and the delay involved.
Committee chair Todd Robinson incorporated the proposed modifications and promises regarding the project when he made his report to the Palms Neighborhood Council on Aug. 2.
The project still must be approved by higher city planning authorities.
It was approved once before by the Palms Assembly, but the action was rescinded after stakeholders and Cheviot Hills activists complained.
Assembly members voting in favor on Aug. 2 were Neal James Anderberg, Mario Bruhwiler, George Garrigues, Matt Gaspar, Ingeborg Prochazka, Terry Robinson and Billie Silvey. Opposed were Willie Bell, Donahoo and John Riordan |
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The Pacific Television Center, above, would be hidden from this perspective if a six-story building is constructed on the northeast corner of Palms and Motor, as planned. The mixed-use structure would be on a vacant lot (behind the chain-link fence) which for many years was the site of an automobile service station. The drawing below is by the applicant's architect.
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PALMS IS SUPPORTING VENICE BLVD. CONDO PROJECT
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City officer ratifies Kor application
A city hearing officer on July 19 approved the application of the Kor Group to switch its three big new buildings at 10001 Venice Blvd. from apartments to condominiums (earlier story below).
Kate Bartolo of the Kor Group told The Sun that Kor will go ahead with its plans to rent out the units on short-term leases. The renters will have first crack at buying their apartments as condos, she said.
Five of the 115 units will be live-work spaces which will includer residential and commercial uses.
Parking requirements will be less than city requirements. A waiver was granted because the complex will be served by existing bus lines.
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The Palms Neighborhood Council is supporting a proposal by the Kor Group to transform its still-unfinished Venice-Clarington-Dunn residential-commercial complex from apartments to condominiums.
The Council's Representative Asssembly voted on July 5 in favor of the condominium plan — 10 in favor, 2 opposed and 1 abstention.
The original idea was to rent out all of the units as apartments, but Kate Bartolo of the Kor Group said a changed business direction for her company made that plan impossible.
In the meantime, the Kor Group has already begun a campaign to rent out the units.
The Palms Council vote came after Bartolo told the gathering in the IMAN Center that her company would provide the following financial incentives for both the community and prospective buyers.
(a) $150,000 homeowners' assistance program to help write down the interest rate for the buyer.
(b) Upon receipt of the tentative tract map, two to three months later, funding into escrow a $100,000 amount to be spent in this neighborhood for beautification or other purposes, such as traffic-calming devices.
(c) Payment of a "Quimby fee" of $6,000 a unit (for recreation and park purposes) which can be earmarked for the Palms neighborhood — at 115 units that figure is $690,000.
Deanna Stevenson of the city's Department of Neighborhood Empowerment said the Palms Council could not handle any of the money itself, but Elizabeth Carlin, representing Councilman Herb Wesson, said the finances could be taken care of through his office.
Assembly members voting in favor said they wanted more home ownership in Palms, which at present is about 90% renters. |
Sun photo of the Clarington side of the building
Condominium units are private residences, usually owned by the people who occupy them. They can be rented out by the owners, said Palms Secretary George Garrigues.
But Lori Donahoo, Assembly member for the Charnock Ranch Historic Business Area, said that it would be in the condo owners' best interest to keep them as condos instead of renting them out.
"A lender will not lend on a property if there's a certain percentage that are rentals, so I'm sure the homeowners' assn. would not be very keen on that," she said.
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HEARINGS ON SOUTHWEST PALMS CONDOMINIUM CONVERSIONS
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A city official will hold a public hearing at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, on converting an existing apartment bldg. at 3635 S. Veteran Ave. to condominiums.
There are 22 parking spaces for 11 units on a 9,360 sq. ft. site in an RD2-1 zone.
The hearing will be in City Hall Room 1020. The tentative tract no. is 64433, and the environmental report no. is 2006-646-MND.
A city official held a public hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 9, on converting an existing apartment bldg. at 3745 S. Military Ave. to condominiums.
There are 32 parking spaces for 15 units on a 13,767 sq. ft. site in an RD2 zone.
The tentative tract no. was 64835, and the environmental report no. was 2006-4123-CE.
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