Main Street Project Has No Friends on ARB

By Teresa Rochester

May 21 - A major housing and retail development that would revamp a northern stretch of Main Street stumbled on its final hurdle Monday evening when the Architectural Review Board refused to approve the project, which it described as "Disneylandesque."

Developer Howard Jacobs will immediately appeal the ARB's unanimous decision to oppose the two projects totaling 133 market-rate apartments slated for the former Boulangerie site at 2012 Main St. and a neighboring parcel at 2021 Main St., according to his attorney Chris Harding.

The proposed three and four story buildings, designed by ARB Chair and architect Howard Laks, found no fans among the four board members who deliberated on the projects. But it was Jacobs who set the stage for the vote against the project by asking for an up or down vote and shooting down the board's request that he ask for a continuance to redesign the project.

"We're not your architect," Jacobs told the board. "If the suggestion is your entire concept doesn't work… based on the damages we incurred and continue to incur we can't just scrap the plans."

Board members' reasons for disapproval ranged from the minor (the type of material used for railings) to the major (the seemingly random use of varying architecture types) to the political (a letter from Harding warning them not to second guess the City Council's earlier decision in favor of the project).

"What I'm most concerned about is this project could be located anywhere," said board member Rick Abelson, who also described the development as a mish mash of styles. "You could pick it up and put it in Huntington Beach. You could pick it up and put it in New Zealand."

Board member Rodolfo Alvarez said it was the second time a lawyer had contacted him about a project, beginning a pattern that disturbed him.

"I see a pattern, a pattern that at best is a silly attempt to influence me and at worst it's a crass attempt at trying to intimidate me," Alvarez said. "I find that difficult and bordering on impropriety."

Alvarez said that the letter to the board, which was attached to a letter to the City's senior land use attorney, tainted his view of the projects and made him unwilling to vote. He eventually relented so that there would be a quorum. Board member Joan Charles expressed similar concerns.

In his May 17 letter to the ARB, Harding cautioned board members to limit deliberations to architectural design, landscaping and signage, and not to take up the issues of massing and neighborhood compatibility he said were already addressed by the council. He said he supported the findings in the City staff's reports on the projects, which call for their approval.

The ARB also received copies of an earlier letter sent to the City's senior land use attorney from Harding's law partner Ken Kutcher.

"We suggest it is especially important that the ARB (and Planning Commission on appeal) are advised of the legal limits governing their decision-making given these projects' unique history," the letter states.

Jacobs' told the board that he had every right to hire attorneys to represent his interest. In fact Harding's firm is already representing Jacobs in a suit against the City because it took approximately two years for the Main Street projects to undergo the necessary environmental analysis.

Along with filing an appeal with the Planning Commission, Harding said Jacobs also would ask that the projects to go before the commission quickly because of the previous delay.

The commission turned down the project when it was first presented, finding that they were too massive and did not fit into the neighborhood. Jacobs appealed the ruling to the City Council, which ultimately approved the Environmental Impact Report for the projects earlier this year.

The project slated for 2021-29 Main Street is a three-story, 27-foot high, mixed-use building with two levels of subterranean parking. The ground floor would contain a total 6,533 square feet of retail space and 26 residential units.

The second project would be four stories tall with 11,549 square feet of retail space and 107 residential units. The roof level would feature a swimming pool and a hot tub.

Architect Laks incorporated a number of styles, from Craftsman to International, after the planning commission suggested a stylistic mix would make the block-long project appear less massive.

The Main Street projects were two of three projects on last night's ARB agenda designed by Laks. The chair had to recuse himself during those deliberations.

Prompted by a growing number of projects designed by Laks that are coming before the board, Abelson, who is the former ARB chair, asked that the board discuss the possibility of electing a new chair at an upcoming meeting. His request was approved.