One of the dumb events last week was a presentation to the combined Planning Commission and Architectural Review Board by Boris Dramov of the ROMA Design Group, the San Francisco-based design group de jour for most of the major urban planning projects in the city.
In a classic “close the barn door after the horses are out” move, the city hired ROMA to suggest new design standards for the downtown area. Dramov’s presentation concerned the predominantly residential area just east of the downtown business district — a neighborhood that has recently been built out.
Although much of the area is dominated by new five-floor market rate apartments and condos, mostly from developer Craig Jones, Dramov recommended raising height limits and creating larger, noisy, claustrophobic, interior courtyards by reducing private balconies and side setbacks in new construction.
Dramov advised that reducing on-site parking requirements would result in lower construction costs passed on to the consumer, promote more affordable housing and positively effect livability and the environment.
Dramov thinks there’s plenty of available street parking to accompany resident overflow, visitors and nearby businesses. The problem is there’s a critical shortage of street parking in the area and reducing on-site parking for new buildings will exacerbate the problem. This is not a way to achieve urban livability and harmony.
Dramov then predicted that this, along with narrowing streets and widening sidewalks, would “encourage alternate transportation means.”
The incredible part was listening to the — well, B.S. With statements like “savings in construction costs could be passed along to tenants” and “everyone’s in favor of increasing density downtown,” Dramov was piling it on thick.
My favorite ROMA-speak is that taller, six floor buildings will result in “more innovative building types of a higher quality.” Sure. And, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.
The last time I heard anything this ridiculous was about a dozen years ago when another overpaid consultant hired to “redo” Montana Avenue revealed he found 36 additional spots for metered parking on Montana. His embarrassment was palpable when he was informed that the potential parking spaces found were bus stops.
The ROMA Design Group also is the design consultant for the controversial Civic Center Master Plan. This, too has been loudly and extensively criticized by many residents as flawed — with recommendations that fly in the face of logic and community livability.
However, Dramov is smart like a fox. He only has to play to City Council members and he knows what they want to hear.
Another public meeting will be held on Oct. 29. Final recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council for action.
If ROMA’s design recommendations are adopted, expect higher and denser development, a lot less parking, narrower streets, even more gridlocked traffic and an extremely uninviting and flawed environment to live in, shop in or visit. THE DUMBER The Gov. Gray Davis administration is running a $38 billion state deficit this year. When he took office five years ago, there was a $13 billion surplus.
I guess this all kinda snuck up on the good governor and the legislature — the latter, which according to a recent field poll, has a paltry 19 percent approval rate among California voters.
Davis gutted educational funding, plunging the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District further into debt by adding another approximately $5 million to its shortfall and cut millions in community college operating funds, resulting in numerous program eliminations and layoffs at Santa Monica College.
Then, the governor diverted millions in state funding previously allocated to cities, thus causing our city’s deficit to soar to $18 million.
His fiscal incompetence has resulted in hard times, economic chaos and substantially higher taxes — the recent school parcel tax increase — for all of us.
So what do partisan community leaders — I’m talking Democrats, here — do? They open a “no on recall” campaign office.
What are Santa Monica Democratic Club president and planning commissioner, Julie Lopez Dad, former Rent Control Board chair, Delores Press and other leading, local Democrats thinking? Maybe they aren’t.
Have they all forgot how, as captain of the ship, Gov. Gray Davis has run us onto an iceberg and we’re sinking in a frigid sea of red ink?
But, it gets even dumber-er. How about the democratic group’s endorsement of “No recall, vote for Bustamante” Isn’t that kinda like having your cake and eating it, too? (Bill Bauer is a longtime Santa Monica resident and a freelance writer.)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 19, 2003. Read the original PDF.