‘Good Guys’ Allowed Development, Too

Talk about the pots calling the kettle black! The reactions of L.A. and Santa Monica cities to the Culver City Marina Place mall project sure looks like red herrings in the light of wanton development allowed by those “good guys.”

Those of us who live here have watched the municipalities do their “city-building” work and shuddered at the thought of yet another large project with what we know will be murderous impact on our streets and lives. We have also watched the cities yell about the impact of “alien” developments while allowing full-blast development on their side of the border.

Santa Monica is hardly an innocent bystander while developers build massively along Colorado Boulevard and propose monstrous construction at the Santa Monica airport. And L.A. has painted itself into an imminent sewage disaster with little noticeable slowing of projects such as the insidious mini-malls. So where do they come off yelling at Culver City (which has generally been a leader in forestalling rampant development) for succumbing to the financial prospects of the Marina monster?

While the cities point their respective fingers at each others’ transgressions, the residents of the Westside, who look forward to paying the bills in quality-of-life dollars, may tire of the charade. Culver City Mayor (Jozelle) Smith comments with surprise on the Marina project.

She and other elected officials of the Westside cities hopefully have more surprises in store as upcoming elections present two-term and anti-development initiatives and pay raise (so-called “ethics”) legislation. We have a habit of voting not with our feet, but with our votes.

ALLAN RABINOWITZ, Los Angeles