“Bundy Village†is a massive project that is proposed for an 11 ½ acre site on the block northwest of Bundy Drive and Olympic Blvd. It would include six new buildings with well over 1 million square feet of medical office space, residences, and retail. This is like dropping Staples Center onto that corner.
What’s wrong with the project? At 21,000 new car trips per day, it is simply too big for that location. This is approximately a 60% increase in daily car trips in an area that is already gridlocked for several hours every day. To quote the LA Department of Transportation, most of the major intersections across West LA currently operate at Level of Service “E†or “F†during peak hours, and Caltrans says that the I-405 and I-10 freeways in the area are “failing†and cannot handle any more cars. The developer concedes that it is impossible to “mitigate†, or soften the traffic impacts from the project, and that over 20 intersections in the immediate area will be “significantly†worse if the project is built. For example, cars exiting the I-10 westbound onto Bundy would have to queue for nearly a mile and wait 9 minutes just to get to the bottom of the freeway ramp.
The developer of Bundy Village, Michael Lombardi of Stonebridge Holdings, has the right to build a smaller project on the site, but he wants permission from the LA City Council to build this massive project instead. Fortunately two City Councilmen in the area, Bill Rosendahl and Paul Koretz listened to community concerns and asked the developer to downsize his project to a level where these concerns can be addressed. The “community†in this case includes the tens of thousands of people who commute into and out of the area every day, not only people who live in the area. Councilman Rosendahl has also asked that some housing be designated for seniors and that a reputable operator be hired to manage it.
While the developer agreed to postpone any City Council hearings until October (hearings are currently scheduled for October 5 before the City Council PLUM Committee and October 20 for the City Council), he has yet to meet with the community and has not provided any indication of whether he plans to make changes to the current project. The community has requested that changes be submitted at least 60 days prior to any hearings to allow sufficient time for review.
What can you do? Call Councilman Rosendahl’s office at 213-473-7011 or 310-575-8461, or visit www.stopbundyvillage.com or www.fightbundyvillage.org and click on “Send an email†to send in emails voicing your opposition to the project as currently proposed. You can also request a “Fight Bundy Village†lawn sign at www.fightbundyvillage.org. Please join the over ten thousand people who are asking for this project to be “right-sized†for the area, including the Brentwood Community Council, Mar Vista Community Council, Westwood South of Santa Monica Homeowners’ Association, Friends of Sunset Park, the Pacific Palisades Residents’ Association, and the West Sawtelle Homeowners’ Association.
