Developer frustrated; legal case builds
A Main Street developer’s battle with City Hall seems to be dragging on indefinitely.
Just when Howard Jacobs thought he made progress after his 133-unit housing and retail project was approved by the city council in February, he’s almost back to square one.
After nearly three years of public process, a pending lawsuit and countless hours of review, Jacobs was informed last week that his development won’t be reviewed by the planning commission until the end of August, despite that the commission shot down the proposal last December.
Jacobs appealed the decision to the city council, which unanimously approved the project. But Jacobs hit a road block at the architectural review board, which denied the project 4-0 about two weeks ago.
That denial automatically brings the project back to the planning commission, which now has final say on the project.
Meanwhile, 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 of when he filed the application in the fall of 1999. The environmental 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. Jacobs said he pays $115,000 a month for the property.
“We find it amazing that they are being sued over the delays and with all of this, they are delaying it until the end of August,” Jacobs said.
Chris Harding, Jacobs’ attorney, fired off a letter to the city’s planning department on Monday, urging that the matter be dealt with in June.
“If a special meeting is required to accommodate this request, then we suggest such a meeting is clearly warranted given the city’s past unlawful delays of these projects...,” the letter states. “If for no other reason, the city should schedule a prompt hearing on these appeals to mitigate (at least partially) the damages the city has caused Mr. Jacobs.”
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
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 4, 2002. Read the original PDF.