 |
|||||
|
Council delays Sepulveda development
by John Tawa
The development of a 57,000-square-foot office building along Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach near Longfellow Drive will have to wait - at least a little while.
Tuesday night, the Manhattan Beach City Council voted unanimously to set the matter over for a public hearing after residents who live near the project expressed concerns over its size and the impacts it would have on their quality of life.
The project, which was approved 4-1 by the Planning Commission Sept. 13, would replace the former Saab dealership and two existing businesses to the north. The land is co-owned by Re/Max, which would house its real estate agents in the three-story building. A café and 201-space underground parking lot with access off of Longfellow are other project components.
Six residents spoke against the proposed development.
"You're putting in a big building with 201 spots; how are we going to access our homes?" asked Joe Devine. "This is a massive development in this town."
"The development will impact the value of my home and the quality of my life," added Christine Farro.
Farro also took issue with the Planning Commission's approach to discourage traffic through the residential neighborhood to the east by placement of a "No Left Turn" sign coming out of the parking lot.
"The No Left Turn is a Band-Aid on a wound that needs sutures," she commented.
The council, which could not discuss the merits of the project without a noticed public hearing, agreed that sufficient evidence was presented to merit an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision.
"It is of such a size that it deserves a public hearing," said councilmember Linda Wilson.
"The impacts need to be discussed further at the city council level," agreed councilmember Steve Napolitano.
City Manager Geoff Dolan said that a public hearing on the matter will be on the city council's agenda in November.
In other news, the council approved, with slight modification, a citizen survey questionnaire aimed at giving the city a gauge of how its doing in delivering basic city services. The statistically valid telephone survey of 400 randomly selected Manhattan Beach residents will be conducted between Oct. 10 and Oct. 21. Presentation of the results -- from public safety to adequacy of the city's facilities, and from the performance of the city's staff to satisfaction with the library - is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 21.
Finally, the council directed staff to hire a consultant to perform a needs assessment and cost estimate to repair the Roundhouse building at the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier. Public Works Director Neil Miller said that the intense use of the eight-year-old structure by the aquarium and the harsh sea conditions to which the building is exposed has caused a rapid deterioration to the exterior, which the city is responsible for fixing. He estimated that repairs could run several hundred thousand dollars. ER