Just wondering if anyone has any experience of dealing with these 2 municipalities. Looking at some v long term projects right now, one of which is entitling land presently occupied by underperforming single family homes for condos. Again this is something way down the line.
I just had lunch w a consultant who said 'life is too short to develop in Santa Monica'. I look at the R2 zoning that dominates SM and the 50% FAR and I can see why there is not much in way of condos there but curious to hear from someone who has working on something there. I can imagine dealing w the city must be v tough.
Anywhere in the City of LA (including West LA, Pacific Palisades, Hollywood and Venice) isn't so tricky if you are ready to deal with the borderline incompetent planning department and can read the Zoning Code and Specific Plans. That capability alone will put you ahead of the staff at the counter. It will however take forever (at least a year for the tract map).
Santa Monica is a nightmare: the design review board is an imperial power and (as opposed to LA) any discretionary approval is likely to be killed during the public comment period.
Worked on a condo in SM in the late '80s, very labor-intensive in terms of entitlements. Add to that a dysfunctional client (one of many Gehry cast-offs) who had nothing but time on her hands and was so penny-pinching she'd spend ten dollars to save five, and it was a joy.
I remember pulling an all-nighter to finish CDs so that the application could meet a submittal deadline to save a few hundred bucks in school fees.
Hey back in the 80's was Santa Monica so difficult to deal with? Ive only been in LA for 4 years but seems that the area wasnt nearly as desirable as it is now. Heard stories of what the 3rd street promenade was like before they built that whole strip...
Santa Monica's nickname among anyone trying to get permission to do anything is "Soviet Monica"-- a smirky reference to a totalitarian regime. This has been the case since at least 1978, when the city passed one of the most comprehensive and restrictive rent control ordinances in the nation.
From what I hear, this was true for building and development regulations, too, though I'm sure they've gotten even stricter. Just the traffic-calming measures they've been installing over the last few years are fairly heroic in scope. On the other hand, the city government wants to attract development. Witness the large Water Garden and Arboretum developments along Colorado over the last few years. So, SM wants development and growth, but on very strict terms. Not many developers are interested in that constriction, yet the city's beachfront location and amenities are prime attractions in the LA metro area. So some developers will bite the bullet and build.
Third Street Promenade was already built by the late 1980s--its building stock, anyway. Most of it has been upgraded and expanded in the years since, of course. A few new structures have been added, but most of the buildings have been there all along. (The Promenade was not the first urban design experiment along there: Third Street was a regular old automobile street until the 1950s or '60s, when it was closed for an outdoor pedestrian mall-- a popular downtown ploy to try to compete with newer malls back then. The plan may have worked for a short time, but before long that three blocks was pretty much down on its luck: lots of used bookstores and closed-up storefronts. By about 1986 or so, the Promenade plan was hatched and within very few years was a smashing success.)
Feb 11, 09 1:25 pm ·
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Anyone here worked on condo projects in Hollywood, Weho, or Westside LA?
Just wondering if anyone has any experience of dealing with these 2 municipalities. Looking at some v long term projects right now, one of which is entitling land presently occupied by underperforming single family homes for condos. Again this is something way down the line.
I just had lunch w a consultant who said 'life is too short to develop in Santa Monica'. I look at the R2 zoning that dominates SM and the 50% FAR and I can see why there is not much in way of condos there but curious to hear from someone who has working on something there. I can imagine dealing w the city must be v tough.
Actually you could throw any middle-upper class area in there, like Pasadena or even say Beverly Hills/ Beverly Hills Adjacent
Anywhere in the City of LA (including West LA, Pacific Palisades, Hollywood and Venice) isn't so tricky if you are ready to deal with the borderline incompetent planning department and can read the Zoning Code and Specific Plans. That capability alone will put you ahead of the staff at the counter. It will however take forever (at least a year for the tract map).
Santa Monica is a nightmare: the design review board is an imperial power and (as opposed to LA) any discretionary approval is likely to be killed during the public comment period.
Have you been on any SM projects that got struck down by design review?
I've lived in LA for only 4 yrs but SM reminds me a lot of Cambridge MA in terms of being a nightmarish process.
I heard West Hollywood is kind of tough too but I dont know for sure.
Worked on a condo in SM in the late '80s, very labor-intensive in terms of entitlements. Add to that a dysfunctional client (one of many Gehry cast-offs) who had nothing but time on her hands and was so penny-pinching she'd spend ten dollars to save five, and it was a joy.
I remember pulling an all-nighter to finish CDs so that the application could meet a submittal deadline to save a few hundred bucks in school fees.
Good times.
Maybe I should change this to Santa Monica entitleemnt horror story thread.
Hey back in the 80's was Santa Monica so difficult to deal with? Ive only been in LA for 4 years but seems that the area wasnt nearly as desirable as it is now. Heard stories of what the 3rd street promenade was like before they built that whole strip...
Santa Monica's nickname among anyone trying to get permission to do anything is "Soviet Monica"-- a smirky reference to a totalitarian regime. This has been the case since at least 1978, when the city passed one of the most comprehensive and restrictive rent control ordinances in the nation.
From what I hear, this was true for building and development regulations, too, though I'm sure they've gotten even stricter. Just the traffic-calming measures they've been installing over the last few years are fairly heroic in scope. On the other hand, the city government wants to attract development. Witness the large Water Garden and Arboretum developments along Colorado over the last few years. So, SM wants development and growth, but on very strict terms. Not many developers are interested in that constriction, yet the city's beachfront location and amenities are prime attractions in the LA metro area. So some developers will bite the bullet and build.
Third Street Promenade was already built by the late 1980s--its building stock, anyway. Most of it has been upgraded and expanded in the years since, of course. A few new structures have been added, but most of the buildings have been there all along. (The Promenade was not the first urban design experiment along there: Third Street was a regular old automobile street until the 1950s or '60s, when it was closed for an outdoor pedestrian mall-- a popular downtown ploy to try to compete with newer malls back then. The plan may have worked for a short time, but before long that three blocks was pretty much down on its luck: lots of used bookstores and closed-up storefronts. By about 1986 or so, the Promenade plan was hatched and within very few years was a smashing success.)
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