Santa Monica Lookout
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B e s t l o c a l s o u r c e f o r n e w s a n d i n f o r m a t i o n
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Santa Monica Neighborhood Group Wants Moratorium on Development |
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By Jason Islas Members of the group, which represents the well-heeled neighborhood between Wilshire Boulevard and Montana Avenue, voted unanimously for a resolution calling for the City Council to completely halt all consideration of development agreements (DAs) until after the City adopts its Zoning Ordinance Update sometime next year. “The lack of clear and solid zoning laws has sparked a developer feeding frenzy and invited all sorts of shady wheeling and dealing,” he said. With more than 30 major development projects in the pipeline, the City is currently facing an unprecedented number of pending DAs. But it’s unclear how many DAs Wilmont’s proposed moratorium would postpone, since few of those DAs are likely to go before the Council before adoption of the Zoning Ordinance Update or the Downtown Specific Plan. “What Saturday's vote represents is really a clear ‘no confidence’ vote for City Hall,” Kargl said. “Our members do not trust that City Hall is handling developer agreements in the best interest of Santa Monica residents.” Wilmont’s current board has made no apologies about its general opposition to what it considers to be over development in Santa Monica. Last summer, Wilmont was embroiled in a protracted power struggle after members of the group protested the old board’s decision to endorse a $255 million redevelopment plan by the Fairmont-Miramar Hotel. ("Santa Monica Group Holds Elections after Miramar Opponents Pack Meeting," June 9, 2012) Owners of the hotel, located at the neighborhood’s southwestern most corner, have proposed demolishing two buildings on their property and replacing them with three new ones. In July, the board opted to conducted a survey of registered Wilmont members, eventually tallying about 350 responses. ("Santa Monica Neighborhood Group Conducts Height Survey," July 11) They were also asked, “Do you feel the quality of life in Santa Monica is better or worse than it was 5 years ago?” Reinhard said he already knows the answer. "I don't think that there is any question about it at all," he said. "(Residents) don't want any commercial developments in a residential area." |
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