> ## 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’s north end to be developed
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/main-streets-north-end-to-be-developed/
- Published: 2002-02-14T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:02:12.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Government & Politics, Main St, #archive-import

*City council approves large housing and retail development*

The north end of Main Street will no longer be a quiet and abandoned area.

After nearly three years of public process, a pending lawsuit and countless hours of review, developer Howard Jacobs finally got the go ahead from city council Tuesday to build a 133-unit housing and retail development that will cover an entire city block on Main Street.

The project got a thumbs down from the planning commission and city staff, who both recommended that it be denied. The development includes three-and four-story buildings on the west and east side of Main Street just south of Pico Boulevard. The larger building will occupy the former Pioneer Boulangerie Bakery site.

Jacobs appealed to the city council after the Santa Monica Planning Commission denied the project on Dec. 5\. The commissioners said the development, which is about 170,000 square feet, would overwhelm the neighborhood and would aesthetically ruin Main Street. They said the size of the building would be out of character with the residential neighborhood.

Jacobs modified the plan and has been explaining the architectural changes to council members for the past month and a half in private meetings.

He said Wednesday the modifications address some of the complaints the commission and city staff had about the scale of the building. The buildings’ shape was recon-figured and the placement of some elements have been moved, he said.

City staff suggested that because the project is inconsistent with the city’s goal of keeping commercial development compatible with residential neighborhoods, council should not approve the project.

But all of the council members agree that Jacobs’ modifications have made it a decent project. It is now well designed and will revitalize an area of Main Street that has sat empty for too long, council members say.

The council voted unanimously to approve the project, with conditions and modifications not yet understood by city officials. A formal vote with the necessary paper-work backing up Jacobs’ representations will be taken at the next council meeting.

Jacobs told the council he has submitted the modified plans and didn’t understand why city officials were confused on what they were approving.

“Our intention is we amend our application now,” he said. “Time is critical and I would beg you not to delay this.”

> “Our intention is we amend our application now. Time is critical and I would beg you not to delay this.” — — HOWARD JACOBS Developer

But the council and city staff didn’t take any chances. “I can’t really rest easy with the developer saying ‘No worries, I submitted the conditions,’... we have to make the findings. I’m sorry but this is going to take another two weeks,” said City Attorney Marsha Moutrie when she advised the council. “Maybe you need a better understanding of what the dreadful result is that will inevitably flow from the developer. I don’t think another two weeks is a real long time compared to how many years have passed.”

She added that the paperwork would take only a few days, but the council doesn’t meet again for two weeks.

“It’s not really my job to comfort an applicant here but I think we are prepared to do this very fast,” she said.

Jacobs is suing the city, arguing it has dragged its feet in completing the environmental impact review on the project, 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 last March and now that he closed on the property, Jacobs pays $2,000 a month in mortgage payments and maintenance.

Jacobs said Wednesday he is pleased the council approved the project and is uncertain what his next move will be regarding the suit against the city.

“I’m very gratified,” he said. “I don’t think we are focusing on the lawsuit as much as the project right now.”

Jacobs’ project must now be reviewed by the city’s architectural review board and the state coastal commission. He expects to break ground in December.

“There is nothing easy or automatic,” he added.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 14, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021402.pdf?ref=smdp.com)