By Julie Easton Santa Monica
We are writing to express our opposition to the Planning Commission’s approval of three four-story condominium buildings at 1112 Pico Blvd.
We have reviewed the 165-page initial Environmental Study conducted by Rincon Associates — its $38,689 cost paid for by the developers — and posted on www.santa-monica.org. We have found significant misconceptions in the report as follows: ■ The project will replace 15 existing single-story rent-controlled apartments with a four-story complex of 18 units. On page 34 of the report it states that this will result in an estimated increase of six people, thereby posing little if any impact on density, traffic, etc.
What the report fails to mention is that the existing 15 units are made up of very small bachelor and one-bedroom apartments, almost half of which are less than 250 square feet each. The total square footage of all the existing 15 units is 6,712 square feet, an average size of 447 square feet. The proposed 18 condos will each range in size from 885 square feet to 1,757 square feet, for a total of 23,952 square feet, an average of 1,331 square feet per unit. The new units represent more than a 350-percent increase in living area. Surely to suggest that converting 15 very small apartments into 18 family-size con-dos and estimating a net increase of six persons is grossly misleading. Clearly, these new condos are designed to house couples and families, unlike the existing structures. Cost alone will be one reason more people will need to live there — the average sales price for a condo in Santa Monica in the zip code 90405 in the last calendar year is $616 per square foot, according to the MLS, which would mean an average sales price of $819,896 per unit and a gross total of $14.75 million in sales to the developers.
Given the above, a more realistic estimate of the increase in the number of people would be to estimate two persons per condo, plus perhaps five condos with an average of two children each — a net increase of 25 to 31 persons, not six. ■ Most tellingly, the proposed development includes a new subterranean parking floor of 19,916 square feet with 40 parking spaces, an increase of 22 parking spaces from the existing 18. This fact raises the question of why would the developer add an additional 22 parking spaces for their estimated six-person increase? The answer is that there will be much more than a six person increase. Twenty-two new spaces for 25 to 31 new persons seems closer to the truth. ■ The report also states that the property is in an area where … “the buildings range from one to four stories.” We wonder what area they are referring to? There are no four-story buildings anywhere on Pico east of Lincoln Boulevard to the eastern border of Santa Monica. There are no four-story buildings to the south — most are houses. And we are not aware of any nearby to the north until you get to the commercial district which begins north of the 10 Freeway. There are a few three-story buildings on Pico east of Lincoln boulevards, notably at SMC, but by far the vast majority of the buildings in the area are one and two story. In fact, in the immediate area surrounding the project, the original developers took into consideration the natural topography, a gently rising hillside, of the neighborhood and thus afforded each complex a beautiful sunset view from the second floor. The proposed project will change all that. Surely, the developers will advertise stunning sunset views from the new units knowing they have stolen ours. And no doubt the units facing the sunset will command premium prices. The loss of view from our units will no doubt reduce the value of our units.
It is important to note that many of the facts used to reach the above conclusions — simple math really — are nowhere to be found in the Rincon report, but are available in the public record.
Santa Monica is known for its progressive leadership. Granting an amendment to the General Plan to allow this project to proceed as proposed would appear to benefit the interests of a private developer over the interests of the citizens of the neighborhood.
While we understand that development is inevitable, surely it’s in the best interest of all concerned for the developer to scale back this project to one more in sync with neighborhood norms. We propose the project be reduced to two stories, which could still contain 18 units, just smaller, and perhaps in fact result in the developers’ target net increase of six persons. This would be in keeping with current zoning and maintain the neighborhood look and feel, and minimize the traffic/density impact. In short, it would be a compromise to make everyone happy and still allow the developer a tidy profit with a shorter, less-disruptive construction time.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 17, 2006. Read the original PDF.