Venice : Developer Loses Zoning Plea
A developer who was hoping to build a $7-million residential and commercial complex on Ocean Front Walk has been told that he will have to go back to the drawing board. The city Board of Zoning Appeals this week ruled that the approvals granted to Thomas Safran two years ago have expired.
The decision means that Safran, who initiated the project in 1979, will be forced to seek city approvals all over again. This time, however, he will be bound by the guidelines established under Proposition U, the city’s slow-growth measure. Safran had hoped to build a 50,000-square-foot development between Navy and Ozone streets. He will now be limited to 28,000 square feet.
An attorney for Safran said that he allowed the deadline to pass because he got “tripped up on detail.”
Safran’s development would have included 35 condominiums, nine of them reserved for low- or moderate-income and first-time buyers, and 21 rental units for senior citizens. The ground floor was reserved for commercial space. A spokesman said that Safran will revise his plans.
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