Developer Unveils Plans to Build on Former Church Lot on Venice Boulevard

About 40 locals gathered to hear a presentation Wednesday night from developers who want to put 12 townhomes on the former church lot on South Venice Boulevard between Washington Way and Ocean Avenue.

"What you're proposing is really kind of obscene," 30-year resident Carol Royce-Wilder told representatives from developer Kalnel Gardens.

The project proposes 16,927 square feet of floor space, requiring the acquisition of city property along Venice Boulevard and at the corner of Venice Boulevard and Ocean and Mildred avenues, across from (see photos at right).

"This is what we're proposing currently," said Eric Lieberman, a land use consultant for the developer. Lieberman and Kalnel Gardens' Len Judaken will present the project again at the Venice Neighborhood Council's Land Use and Planning Committee (LUPC) meeting on June 29. Both presentations are to gather feedback from the community.

The project would require that the Department of City Planning allow variances from the Venice Specific Plan, which sets guidelines for development in the area. Currently, the area is composed of several lots. It is unclear whether the land can be divided into 12 lots, as the developers hope, or if it would have to be combined into one.

Under the Venice Specific Plan, there is a limit of two units per lot, unless some units are designated as affordable. The Mello Act would require the project to offer only two of the 12 townhomes as affordable, Judaken said.

The proposal does conform to height and setback regulations, LUPC member Susan Papadakis said, although some attendees at Wednesday's meeting suggested that a 15-foot setback and single-story heights along Venice Boulevard would be more appropriate. 

One of the biggest sticking points among neighbors was that the developers intend to purchase the lot at the corner of Venice Boulevard and Ocean Avenue from the city. They also intend to acquire what is called "revocable land" along Venice Boulevard. That land cannot be built on. It would be landscaped, and is represented in the plans (shown at right) by green space.

"You will not get those parcels," Venice resident Robin Murez told the presenters.

Murez received a $10,000 city beautification grant for that corner three years ago, but the dispensation was put on hold when the developers began their proposal. 

Residents expressed concern over the visibility and traffic congestion at that corner.

"It's total greed," Murez said. "Safety is an issue, but also density, beauty— it's quality of life."