> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Main Street development gets dealt second blow - URL: https://www.smdp.com/main-street-development-gets-dealt-second-blow/ - Published: 2001-12-07T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T22:30:00.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Government & Politics, Main St, #archive-import *Developer Howard Jacobs will appeal; continues with lawsuit against city* The largest development proposal to hit Santa Monica’s Main Street in years was shot down Wednesday, after planning commissioners unanimously agreed that the project is just too big. The 133-unit housing and retail development was proposed for the former Pioneer Boulangerie Bakery site and another plot across the street. Developer Howard Jacobs purchased both parcels just south of Pico Boulevard, and has been trying to get the proposal through the city planning process for nearly two years. Santa Monica planning commissioners spent about five hours reviewing the project before voting 7-0 to deny it. Nearly all of the commissioners said the development, which totals 171,533 square feet, dwarfs the neighborhood and would aesthetically ruin the north end of Main Street. “I cannot in all good conscience let the unusual, unique, charming and very intriguing character of the neighborhood be overwhelmed,” said Commissioner Geraldine Moyle. “It is simply too huge and you can (determine) whether that’s the Titanic or the iceberg.” > “I cannot in all good conscience let the unusual, unique, charming and very intriguing character of the neighborhood be overwhelmed.” — — GERALDINE MOYLE Santa Monica planning commissioner Commissioner Arlene Hopkins, like other board members, commended Howards’ design team for its effort and good intentions. But she voted against the project because of unknown factors — such as the type of housing and the effects of such a development on traffic. She also feared that a project of that size would make the area look like the south end of Main Street, which is lined, to her distress, with tall buildings. “It does in a way book end Main Street,” she said. Jacobs plans to appeal the decision to the Santa Monica City Council rather than redesign the plans so that the buildings are smaller. “The reason we will go to the council rather than the commission is because we believe the commissioners, based on what they expressed, are looking for a reduction in size,” he said Thursday. “I really don’t understand the value in going back to them.” He said the project is 70,000 square feet under what’s allowed by the city code. Building a project much smaller than that isn’t economically feasible, he asserted. Jacobs has proposed two mixed-use buildings on both sides of Main Street. The west-side project, located at 2012- 2024 Main Street, (the former Boulangerie site), would have four stories, 107 residential units, a three-level underground parking garage and 12,281 square feet of commercial space at street level. The east-side parcel, located at 2021- 29 Main Street, would include three stories, 26 residential units, a two-level underground parking garage and 6,533 square feet of commercial space at street level. Jacobs noted that the commissioners continued to use words like “mass and scale” during their analysis of the project instead of simply talking about its size because they know he is proposing something far smaller than the legal allowance. “Under the zoning code, it would be illegal to use size so they use ‘scale’ and ‘placement,’” Jacobs said. He added that because the city has height limits, he can’t build a taller but denser building. But likewise, city regulations prevent him from building right up to the street, which would spread the development further on the block and make it appear less massive. Jacobs cited another telltale indicator that commissioners know he is within city height standards: they referred to the height of the buildings in terms of stories, not feet. “The comments made about the stories, massing and placement... they want a smaller project,” he said. “But we are in compliance with the codes in every way.” The effort to bring the “right” project into the public review process has gone unnoticed by city planning staff, said Jacobs, who filed a lawsuit against the city in early November. He claims the city has dragged its feet in completing the environmental impact report on the proposal. It’s supposed to be done within 12 months, according to state law. It took a year and a half for the city to get the 500-page report completed. The city has contended state regulations represent guidelines, not rules. Jacobs claims that the delay has cost him millions of dollars because he has had to continue to pay interest on his debt, as well as $82,000 a month in maintenance expenses. The developer claims that the Santa Monica City Council put the project in jeopardy when it delayed hiring a consultant to complete the environmental impact report in April of 2000\. At the time, the city told him that the report would be done in July of 2000 and before the planning commission in February of 2001\. The contract with EIP Associates, the West Los Angeles-based consulting firm hired by the city, wasn’t signed until December. Jacobs was told the project would be reviewed by the planning commission in May or June of 2001\. But its final review came this month. Jacobs said Thursday that he was told the appeal will be reviewed in late January by the city council. “What’s particularly frustrating is the staff has had the plans in the current form for two years,” he said, adding the commissioners’ comments Wednesday didn’t even address the analysis in a report they have been awaiting for nearly two years. “We have been begging (city staff) for years to tell us what needs to be changed. The whole idea for staff to review it is so the developer can do it right the first time.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/120701-01_01.jpg) Students recently leave Santa Monica High School, where 26 percent of the entire student body does not live in the city. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/120701-01_02.jpg) The proposed location for a 133-unit housing and retail development on Main Street is the abandoned Pioneer Boulangerie Bakery. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 7, 2001.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/120701.pdf?ref=smdp.com)