Planning Chair Kelly Olsen's Take on Trader Joe's

January 11, 2001

Dear Editor:

For several months now there have been articles and columns indicating that I was trying to stop the proposed Trader Joe's market at 12th and Wilshire from going forward. This is not at all the case.

I am a big fan of Trader Joe's. I have shopped at Trader Joe's for years and I continue to shop at Trader Joe's on a weekly basis. While I was a member of the City Council I worked very hard to get Trader Joe's to come to Santa Monica. In the early 90's the City offered Trader Joe's a space in one of the downtown parking structures. Unfortunately, the space didn't fit their needs and I was very disappointed.

I was delighted when they opened the Pico site because I no longer had to go to the West L.A. store. I was also pleased that other Santa Monica residents would have quality goods at affordable prices. Santa Monica residents are greatly served by the Pico store.

I personally would benefit from a new Trader Joe's store at 12th and Wilshire. It is much closer to my home than the Pico site. Another site in Santa Monica might also relieve some of the pressure and congestion at the Pico store. I'd be thrilled if every neighborhood in Santa Monica had a Trader Joe's.

However, the real issue here is not how much I like Trader Joe's. The issue is the integrity of the Planning process. Regardless of how much I or anybody else likes Trader Joe's, we can't make Planning decisions based on personal likes and dislikes. This is the "Good Old Boy" form of politics and it is unacceptable.

We have laws that guide us. Many of these laws are designed to protect the rights of land owners and business operators in Santa Monica. These laws have been vigorously protected by City Staff and the business community. But there are also laws protecting the residents and these have often been ignored by the City.

I'm sorry to say that it has been my observation as a City Councilman and a Planning Commissioner that bending the rules in City Hall to accommodate development has often occurred. To be fair to our Planning Staff, I believe that this was allowed by former management for the purposes of keeping the developer community happy and the tax revenue rolling in. However, I believe that government has additional responsibilities that are equally as
important as creating revenue.

The Zoning Code is designed to mitigate potential conflicts between land uses. When there is a gross deviation of these mitigations, long term problems erupt which are usually impossible to rectify and the residents have to deal with the consequences for years.

The residents have made it very clear that bending rules or completely ignoring them at the expense of compromising the quality of life of neighbors is unacceptable no matter who the developer is or what the business is.

My involvement consisted of simply asking Planning Staff to consider the pertinent controlling sections of the Zoning Code in their Administrative Approval processing of Trader Joe's, as did several 12th Street residents. A rather simple, but important request for the following reason:

I, as well as other Commissioners, Councilmembers and residents, have witnessed several similar projects gain approvals without proper analysis of the pertinent regulations. The aftermath has resulted in expensive lawsuits involving the City, lost housing opportunities and the perpetuation of uses that cause neighbors hardship. It is everybody's job in City Hall to see that this does not continue to happen.

I can certainly understand Trader Joe's being upset, but it appears they were given incorrect advice. Trader Joe's could have been saved a lot of time and money if their architect had read the Code. It is very clear to anybody remotely familiar with the Code that the site could not legally accommodate the needs of the new store because of the underlining Residential Zoning
designation.

I believe that it is my responsibility as a Planning Commissioner and right as a resident to request thorough and proper examination of projects. All development projects should be able to withstand the light of examination. If the light reveals flaws, then they need to be addressed, not cosmetically covered up or ignored.

The current Planning Commission and City Council majority has made it very clear that for the long term health and livability of our community we expect a fair and even application of the law for all sides and the rights of neighbors are to be respected just as much as the rights of businesses and developers.

As a resident, I hope that Trader Joe's is successful in finding another site or even several other sites in Santa Monica. As a Planning Commissioner, I will expect these sites to be properly zoned and be able to legally accommodate their needs as well as the needs of the neighborhood.

Thank you for this opportunity to correct the record.

Sincerely,