Project headed back to planning commission
A city commission dealt a setback to a proposed Main Street project Monday night, with some board members accusing the developer of intimidation tactics.
The Architectural Review Board voted 4-0 to deny Howard Jacobs’ 133-unit housing and retail development on the north end of Main Street in the former Pioneer Boulangerie Bakery site.
Two of the board members voted against the project, not because of its architectural merits, but because they received a letter from Jacobs’ attorney, which one described as an “undue attempt to influence” the board.
“It certainly colors my view of the project,” board member Rodolpho Alvarez said of the letter.
Board member Joan Charles agreed, saying she also found the letter “very disturbing.”
It was unclear exactly what was stated in the letter, which was sent by attorney Chris Harding.
Board members Sergio Zeballos and Rick Abelson voted to deny the project because they disagreed with its architecture.
The architectural board denial means the project will be sent back to the city’s planning commission, which denied Jacobs last December.
After nearly three years of public process, a pending lawsuit against the city and countless hours of review, Jacobs was finally told in February by the Santa Monica City Council that he could build his development.
But the project still had to pass through the Architectural Review Board, which determines the development’s overall conformity with the neighborhood — the controversial reason given by the planning commission when it denied the project Dec. 5.
The project still has to be reviewed and approved by the state coastal commission.
The development — which will cover an entire city block — includes three-and four-story buildings on the west and east sides of Main Street just south of Pico Boulevard. The larger building will occupy the former Pioneer Boulangerie Bakery site.
The planning commission and city staff both recommended that the 170,000-square-foot project be denied because it would overwhelm the neighborhood and aesthetically ruin Main Street. They said the size of the building would be out of character with the residential neighborhood.
Based on some of the planning commission’s concerns, Jacobs modified the plan and then met with city council members to explain the changes before he appealed the commission’s decision to them.
The city council voted unanimously to approve the development, saying the modifications made it a decent project that will revitalize an abandoned area of Main Street.
However, many residents in the area believe the new apartments will inundate the neighborhood with more traffic and noise.
Some suggested that the council only approved the project to avoid losing a lawsuit Jacobs has levied against the city. Some officials said if Jacobs wins, the city could be forced to pay $9 million in damages.
In the lawsuit, Jacobs claims that the city dragged its feet in completing the project’s environmental impact review, which is supposed to be done within 12 months, as prescribed by state law. The report was completed late last year.
Jacobs claims that the delay has cost him millions of dollars because he is sitting on land that he has to pay for and the city is delaying him his right to get a return on his investment. He extended escrow on the property until March of 2001 and now that he as closed on the property, Jacobs pays $82,000 a month in mortgage payments and maintenance.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 21, 2002. Read the original PDF.