Culver City : Verdict in Mall Suit Upheld

The Venice Town Council has lost an appeal of a lawsuit against the proposed Marina Place shopping mall in Culver City.

The lawsuit, filed jointly with the City of Los Angeles in 1988, charged that Culver City did not meet California Environmental Quality Act standards when it approved one phase of the project in August, 1988.

On Oct. 15, an appeals court judge upheld the 1989 lower court ruling in favor of Culver City.

The proposed regional shopping mall is planned for 18.3 acres at Culver City’s western tip. The mall would house about 150 stores, including Nordstrom and Bullock’s department stores. The developers are Prudential Insurance Co. of America and Melvin Simon & Associates.

The site, on Washington Boulevard one block east of Lincoln Boulevard, is bordered on three sides by Los Angeles, prompting criticism from neighbors that Los Angeles stands to bear the brunt of the traffic while Culver City would receive all the revenue from the mall.

One lawsuit continues to block construction. A citizens group, Coastal Area Support Team, is trying to block the project on the grounds that Culver City did not adequately study the mall’s impact on the coastal zone.

A Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit, however, ruling that the group failed to file it within the required 90 days after the city approved the project in 1990. The organization is appealing.

Culver City officials and the developers say the project will proceed as soon as all litigation is cleared.

“It’s taken a long time,” said Michael Marr, vice president of development at Melvin Simon. “But you have to go through the courts on these legal matters and you just can’t hurry the process.”