Community Corner

Chairperson Named for New Venice Committee on Development

Panel will study application requirements for new developments to help retain neighborhood feel.

Sue Kaplan, has been chosen to spearhead a new committee that will study the compatibility of new developments with existing homes in parts of Venice. 

Kaplan currently leads the Venice Walk Street Association, a group that discusses issues affecting residents of the 10 blocks in the Oakwood-Milwood section.

Kaplan was chosen for the newly-formed Mass, Scale and Character Ad-hoc Committee “because I am confident that she brings to the table the necessary skill set,  knowledge and intelligence and motivation to protect our communities, to move the mission statement  forward in a fair and balanced way,” Venice Neighborhood Council President Linda Lucks said in a letter.

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The VNC voted to form the committee on Sept. 18 as a result of the complaints it has been receiving from neighbors regarding the recent boom in larger homes that have sprung up near smaller bungalows. 

The committee’s purpose will be to solicit input from the community, planners, developers and other parties that may be involved in a proposed project. Although there are set height,width and density limits currently in place that designers must abide to, the committee will take into consideration the “character” of a building, which is vaguely defined in the Venice Coastal Zone Plan, and how it matches the overall feel of the neighborhood. 

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kaplan is also running for a seat on the Land Use and Planning Committee in the elections that will be held later this month. 

“I’ve assisted residents before the Planning Commission where projects would be detrimental to our neighborhood. I successfully introduced a VNC motion to consider mass and scale,” Kaplan says in her candidate bio. “I’ll bring fairness to all deliberations and be guided by all applicable land use documents. I pledge to pay attention to the needs of all of Venice including east of Lincoln and the Oxford Triangle.”

The Mass, Scale and Character committee's jurisdiction will be limited to the Venice Coastal Zone Area, which does not include the area east of Lincoln Boulevard or the Oxford Triangle.


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