Past met present and future at the recent San Vicente Corridor Specific Plan meeting held at University Synagogue on July 26.
Sponsored by the Brentwood Community Council, the panel discussion with former L.A. City Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski, former Acting Deputy Director of the L.A. Department of City Planning Jane Blumenfeld, San Vicente Design Review Board Member Flora Krisiloff, local architect Ray Keller, and former Design Review Board member Marlene Grossman, gave residents an opportunity to hear about the past, present and future of the San Vicente Corridor Specific Plan that governs the look, feel and design of the corridor.
The purpose of the plan, according to the Los Angeles City Council, is to ensure “the existing ambiance of San Vicente Boulevard, preserving and enhancing the inherent beauty and value of its landscaped median strip, and assuring that commercial signage along the Boulevard is appropriately scaled and properly placed so as not to dominate the existing streetscape.”
First implemented by a City Council ordinance on May 31, 1980, the plan has only been amended twice over the years: once in 1986 and again in 2000.
The City has touted the benefits of the plan but also noted in 2000 that new projects starting replacing retail shops with larger office buildings and ground floor businesses were becoming dominated by “financially oriented services.”
The seven-member San Vicente Scenic Corridor Design Review Board attempts to mitigate some of these issues in its role as an advisory body to the City. It provides recommendations on the exterior and/or site design of any new building (other than single-family residences), exterior remodeling projects (other than maintenance and repair work), and commercial signage projects located in the Specific Plan area.
At the July 26 meeting, during the question and answer period, several residents wished to voice their concerns about the recently proposed redevelopment plans at 11770 San Vicente Blvd.
Given that a meeting of the Design Review Board on this specific project was set to take place on July 28, Flora Krisiloff, had to recuse herself from the meeting because she currently sits on that board.
GPI Companies is a Brentwood-based real estate company founded by longtime local residents Cliff Goldstein and Drew Planting and the property in question is situated at the corner of Gorham Ave. and San Vicente Blvd. and extends from Peet’s Coffee to the surface parking lot adjacent to First Republic Bank.
GPI is proposing to develop a five-story mixed-use project that would consist of approximately 8,400 square feet of ground floor, community-serving retail (a reduction from the current 13,000 square feet), with 14 two-story, luxury residential units above.
GPI issued a statement saying that these homes will “present a unique offering for Brentwood residents, many of whom are downsizing and wish to live in the heart of Brentwood as part of a walkable mixed-use community.”
The issue, though, is that the project as it currently stands exceeds the current three-story height limit as required by the Corridor Specific Plan by two floors.
But GPI stated that the project has benefits that should outweigh the height restrictions including the fact that it will “dramatically reduce traffic impacts when compared to current traffic volumes.”
GPI also argued that the new project will be parked completely on-site primarily in an underground garage, eliminating the need for customers to park in the nearby residential neighborhood and that the project is also consistent with the spirit of maintaining and enhancing the quality of life and design standards along the San Vicente corridor.
At the July 28 Review Board meeting, Goldstein reiterated the positive aspects of the project as outlined in GPI’s statements.
However, Design Review Board members expressed concerns that the building seemed too big and out of character with the “village” feel Brentwood residents have come to love and want to protect.
Several members of the public also voiced opposition to the project in its current form. Tom Safran stated he would file a lawsuit should the project be approved as is.
Goldstein stated that GPI would consider the board’s concerns moving forward.
