Money is one way to make a dispute go away and that’s exactly what Culver City employed last week in its approval of the controversial Uptown Lofts project.

The City Council voted to give Runyon Partners LLC in essence what amounted to a $550,000 subsidy in approving a downsized version of the mixed-used project, which had generated stiff resident opposition concerned about its size.

The 9900 Culver Blvd. project was reduced to four stories from five, cutting the condo units to 18 from the original proposal of 25. And retail space will shrink to 5,500 square feet from 7,500.

The changes came as the council prepares to revise its mixed-use ordinance to limit the size of future projects in the city. The revision, expected to be approved within the next month, will reduce the maximum height of mixed-use development to 45 feet from 56 and decrease the allowed density to 35 condo units per acre from 65 units.

Councilman Scott Malsin, who spearheaded the compromise and heads the city’s redevelopment agency, said the council’s approval of the small Uptown Lofts project and expected OK of the revised mixed-use ordinance fit in with the city’s intention to ensure development would be compatible with residential neighborhoods.

“Now that the economics on the Westside have become much stronger we find that there is much more pressure to develop larger buildings,” he said. “We want to have growth that really is beneficial.”

Malsin added that there are several proposals by developers other than Runyon Partners to build mixed-used development in Culver City, including a proposal by Los Angeles developer Champion Real Estate Group to build a five-story development on a 13-acre site on Sepulveda Boulevard.

The pared-down Uptown Lofts project would fit within the new parameters, but has struggled to win over the council.

The city originally sold the parcel of land currently a vacant parking lot to Runyon Partners for $2.5 million. But neighbors worried about increased traffic and scarcer parking were vocal in their opposition of the original proposal.

That prompted the council to unanimously reject the project in May, despite a recommendation for approval by city planners. In later negotiations Runyon Partners proposed to cut four condo units and trim the retail space by about one-third but that wasn’t enough to satisfy the council.

Malsin broke the impasse with the subsidy proposal, allowing the developers to financially justify eliminating more condos and cutting the building down by a story. The compromise passed by a slim 3-2 vote.

The project is expected to break ground in February.