grass, so the property collects dirt and dust and before you know it, you are selling your home in foreclosure,” Jarow said.
On Pico Boulevard, right next to the Holiday Hotel, three white stucco buildings have boarded up windows and a metallic fence that circles the property. The 1100 block of Pico Blvd. has been vacant for years now, but it may soon have a facelift. The Planning Commission and the Los Angeles County Engineer’s Office have approved final plans for an 18-unit condominium that could start constructions in late April.
“Zone changes is what causes a lot of delay,” Jarow said.
In the next few years, a rail system will come to Santa Monica from Culver City and that has developers anxious about a possible wave of new zoning standards and new development requirements.
Properties that are in limbo between redevelopment plans and Planning Commission decisions have often an additional step to consider, the Architectural Review Board.
“They hold up the property for some time and eventually the developers cannot build what they want,” Jarow said.
Discrepancies in zoning policies and decisions on landmark homes often hurt the future of apartment buildings that fall victim to design flaws.
“They just sit there vacant, and if the owners try to get approval for what they want to build they can’t get permits because of architectural changes,” Jarow said.
Planning Director Eileen Fogarty admits that the development process is lengthy, especially if property owners have to prepare an environemntal impact report and a traffic analysis, however, that is no excuse for letting a property fall into disrepair.
“All property owners are responsible for maintaining their property in a safe condition and ensure that it doesn’t become a nuisance or a safety hazard and that it doesn’t detract from the value of surrounding properties,” Fogarty said.
Changes are being made at the planning department to streamline the process and make it easier for property owners to build. The main this is updating the Land Use and Circulation Element so that developers know what to expect upfront. Fogarty is also in the process of having environmental review done in-house to save people both time and money. She has also assigned planners and inspectors to certain neighborhoods and projects so that there is greater continuity.
“That was a major complaint I heard from the community so we want to have it so that the same inspectors come back to the same site each time,” Fogarty said.
One property that has been the subject of much discussion is located at the corner of Ashland and 4th street. The site is owned by the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District and it is the lot where once stood SMASH, an alternative teaching high school.
Lori Nafshun of Get a Life Consulting and a Santa Monica resident believes this piece of property is one for the books.
“It is arguably the most expensive piece of abandoned real estate in the country — with ocean views to boot,” she said.
The site was closed down in the early 1990s when school inspectors found asbestos in the walls of classrooms. Since then, it has been unoccupied.
“Every year there is a different story on what plans there are for the site,” Nafshun said. “The neighbors feel that the building would have been razed years ago if it were in the north part of the city.”
Community Recreation Coordinator for the school district Michael Hill said that plans have been submitted multiple times for approval, but it is out of the district’s hands.
“No school construction goes through without the approval of the state [education] department’s strict standards,” he said. “We have to make sure that it is handicapped accessible, that no asbestos can be found on the property, that there is no underground pipeline and there no hazardous material is found on the property.”
The current structure is below standards on the requirements. What the district intends to do is level the building and only keep the foundations.
“There are chances of rehabilitation, but for now the plans the district considered were not cost effective,” Hill said.
Thanks to Measure BB, a proposition that enabled the school district to cash in $268 million for the construction new school facilities, the former SMASH site may soon have new tenants.
“For now we are still exploring alternatives but what we recommend to the board has no timeline,” Hill said.
Police have said repeatedly that the situation on all vacant lots and properties is not a problem for the Santa Monica.
“There are no major crimes reported,” Padilla said. “But for a neighbor who lives next to an abandoned property, then yes, that’s a problem.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 1, 2008. Read the original PDF.