Lawmakers hope to swap properties
OCEAN AVE. Like the general manager of a pro basketball team or a couple of kids sitting on the porch with a stack of baseball cards, City Hall is looking to make a trade.
On the table is a prime piece of real estate located just a few feet from the beach at 1920 Ocean Way. In return for the 23,000-square-foot vacant lot, City Hall would like to receive something of equal or greater size on which to construct affordable housing.
City staff is currently working on a request for proposals (RFP) and is hoping to attract a number of offers for the City Council to consider. Preference will be given to those offering a site in which more than 33 affordable units could be built, and one that is located as close as possible to the 1920 Ocean Way property, said Housing Manager Bob Moncrief.
City Hall is looking to create more affordable housing to serve workers in the coastal area, which includes several hotels, including Casa del Mar, which is located directly north of the property on the trading block.
“It would be nice to see hotel workers who make the type of salaries that would allow them to qualify for this type of housing be able to live close to where they work,” Moncrief said. “We should all have an opportunity to live by the beach.”
The property became an issue in the last election when some supporters of Councilman Kevin McKeown, a proponent of affordable housing, claimed the owners of Casa del Mar and Shutters were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat him so that the property would not be used for low-cost living.
Tim Dubois, chief executive officer of the Edward Thomas Management Co., which runs the two hotels, could not be reached for comment. A consultant for the company said it is still interested in the property and has been negotiating with City Hall for several years on a land swap involving a graded parking lot at 1828 Ocean Avenue, just a short distance from the city-owned property.
“We have not seen the RFP yet so we don’t know exactly what we would propose or what would be feasible,” said Kim Karie, a consultant with the Karie Group. “I’m not aware of any concerns with the city moving forward with (an affordable housing) project.”
Karie said if the land was acquired by the hotel, zoning regulations would prevent any expansion, restaurant or other development that was not some type of housing.
The area is zoned R-4 for high-density, multi-family housing.
City Hall became the owner of the property in 1979, and in 2001, reaffirmed its commitment to use the property for affordable housing. At that time,“sporadic” negotiations began with Edward Thomas on a swap, but no terms were reached.
At a council meeting on May 25, 2005, city staff requested permission to move forward with construction, however, at the request of Edward Thomas, the council backed off and allowed negotiations to continue, Moncrief said.
Shortly after the arrival of new City Manager Lamont Ewell, he met with Edward Thomas to determine if they were still interested, which they said they were. Under the law, any trade must be done competitively, prompting the search for other interested parties.
Staff has recommended that any property under consideration be currently zoned for residential use and, at minimum, provide a 30-percent increase in the number of affordable units that could built. The property must also be located in Santa Monica and be restricted for long-term affordability.
The process, from solicitation to council recommendation, is estimated to take about four months.
Moncrief said that while priority will be given to property owners with sites Fabian Lewkowicz LET’S MAKE A DEAL: City Hall is looking to trade a prime piece of real estate, a 23,000-square-foot vacant lot located just a few feet from the beach at 1920 Ocean Way, for a comparable parcel on which to build affordable housing. The hotel Casa del Mar is located north of the property. nearby, city staff isn’t going to dismiss proposals for property at a different location within the city that could be larger in size.
The location of affordable housing has been a contentious issue for some, particularly those in the Pico Neighborhood and Sunset Park, who feel they have a disproportionate number of affordable housing projects in their area.
“If we have a great deal somewhere else, we have the flexibility to select that,” Moncrief said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 17, 2007. Read the original PDF.