Dear Fellow Palisadians,

The Pacific Palisades Residents Association (PPRA) is strongly opposed to the proposed development at the former Jack-in-the-Box property. As the City’s rendering shows, a massive building is proposed that is completely out of scale for the location. It violates every applicable zoning code, including the Palisades Specific Plan, as well as the rules that control the Coastal zone, with one exception — the provision that allows exceptions for low-cost housing.

The issue is that this will not be a low-cost housing project. Instead, the developer relies on his unenforceable assertion that the building’s 40 units will include 4 low-rent ones. Armed with the waivers that this assertion authorizes, he claims that his 5-story building should be allowed to tower more than 30 feet above the neighboring 2-story buildings that are otherwise allowed, have no set back, include no usable green space, and provide less parking than is otherwise required. We have yet to see any predicted, let alone promised, rents for these 4 units. And, in any event, we are sadly aware that after the project is completed, there is, in fact, no way to compel adherence to these claims or even promises.

What we have then is a building with paved pathways and balconies that provide access to units but are tallied as open space, racks for owners’ bicycles that it is said will provide the primary means of daily transportation for residents, thereby permitting a garage with less than one parking space per unit, and a building size that would completely alter the current low-key feel of this area, just a block from the beach. If built, it will become the first domino in what is sure to follow. The owner of the strip mall next door, for example, would be foolish not to replace the small, convenient businesses that are his current tenants with a similar high-cost development of his own. Like Jack-in-the-Box itself, we can expect that these modest, convenient services would also be replaced by far more costly businesses and as many additional apartments as possible.

The traffic consequences will be severe with even the building that is now before the Planning Commission. We disagree strongly with the initial Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) traffic assessment, which found these additional 40 apartments and first-floor commercial space would cause no undue congestion. That study took little notice of almost 100 additional condominiums and rental units that have already greatly increased traffic flow at the corner of Sunset and Pacific Coast Highway, into Von’s and at the entrance to the 145 units at Edgewater Towers.

In addition to these disadvantages for all of us and the damage to the rare coastal ambiance that we still enjoy, we expect the privacy and coastal views of many Edgewater Towers condominiums to be severely compromised. The recreational areas that are proposed for the roof of the proposed building will be closely adjacent to and at roughly the same level as the pool and deck that have served the two largest condominium buildings at Edgewater Towers for almost 50 years. The City’s renderings show the extreme impingement on reasonable planning that this developer seeks.

Please join us in speaking out now for appropriate developments in the beautiful area we seek to preserve. Written comments from individuals and groups may be directed to the CPC and arrangements can be made to attend the July 6 virtual hearing at which such comments and 2-minute oral remarks will be received.  All information on how to submit comments or how to attend can be found at https://planning.lacity.org/about/virtual-commission-instructions

Sincerely, Sarah Conner, PPRA President

PLEASE SEND ALL COMMENTS Los Angeles City Planning by 7/6/20

c/o Nick Vasuthasawat – nick.vasuthasawat@lacity.org