Mixed-Use Project Divides Culver City

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With fewer than 30 units and only enough space for a handful of shops, the Uptown Lofts hardly seems like the kind of project that could shape the future development of Culver City.


But the proposed five-story, mixed-use building at 9900 Culver Blvd. has been casting an oversized shadow in a city whose reputation for being open to development is suddenly under question.


“People are frightened of what they haven’t seen,” said Vice Mayor Carol Gross. “Everything that’s proposed people say it’s too big or there’s too much traffic, etc., etc. It’s important to listen to the neighborhoods’ concerns, but we don’t want to pull the rug out from under the developer and turn our backs.”


Last May, the city’s Planning Commission unanimously rejected the proposed project by Runyon Partners LLC, even though city planners recommended its approval. What’s more, the city urged development there: the project got its start from a request for proposals issued by the city, which owned the land and sold it to the developer for $2.5 million.


The planning commission cited traffic and parking concerns among their reason for rejecting the proposal.


The rejection prompted Runyon, a Culver City-based developer, to reduce the project to 21 units from 25, while lopping off nearly 3,000 square feet of retail space from an initial proposal of 7,500 square feet.


The downsized project has once again earned the support of the city’s planning department, and this Monday the City Council will vote on the new proposal, including whether to overturn the planning commission’s decision.


Moreover, it could be the first mixed-use project since the city last year adopted an ordinance to encourage mixed-use development by setting specific development guidelines. Previously, it was unclear whether such projects would receive approval, which prevented some developers from proposing mixed-use developments.


“I believe it will be a significant vote,” said Steven Rose, president of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce and also a council member. “This is really the first project that has come forward under our mixed-use ordinance.”



Rethinking development

Meanwhile, Runyon has been working hard to create a new version of its project that will pass even in an era where some residents are hypersensitive about development.


“We’re proposing some pretty dramatic changes and I think that they’re going to be very well received,” said Joseph Miller, president of Runyon. “I think our chances are very good because we worked with the community and council. We just want to create the best project for everyone; we don’t want to squeak by the City Council.”


Still, the vote comes amid a rethinking of the city’s openness to development amid growing concerns about traffic congestion and other spillover effects of development.


For decades, Culver City was a relatively sleepy, Westside town, marked by cheap housing and a downtown that hadn’t seen consequential development since its heyday as the home of MGM Studios some four decades ago.


However, in the 1990s the city began to redevelop. Retail centers sprung up near Fox Hills Mall, and Sony moved its motion picture operations to the former MGM studios on Washington Boulevard. The city also saw a burgeoning artist community, reflected in the opening of art galleries and the creation of a formal arts district.


Even as early as 2000, though, a backlash started against some of the development with a proposal that would have put the brakes on new theater and office development. Residents voted the measure down.


Indeed, there is a strong pro-development sentiment among some residents. Scott Malsin, chairman of the Culver City redevelopment agency and organizer for the Culver West Neighborhood Association, said the city is blossoming as a result of the development.


“It seems to me as if so much of the fruit of the city’s redevelopment efforts have come to fruition in the past couple of years,” he said. “It seems to me as if there’s never been a more active time in our city’s growth and change.”


However, Gross said she has been approached by residents who are frightened by any higher density, mixed-use project and it seems clear that the city is rethinking its appetite for larger new developments.


“We’ve been pursuing (development) strongly and everybody has gotten scared,” she said. “Now we’re in the midst of a shift in priorities. I’m not sure we know yet what we’re shifting to.”

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