VENICE : Design Firm Loses Job in Boardwalk Renewal Battle

Los Angeles city parks commissioners sought Wednesday to defuse a furor over plans to renovate the Venice Beach boardwalk, by discharging a design firm that had been selected to hold public workshops.

The Studio of Architecture’s $10-million proposal had drawn fire from activists who said it would kill the tourist strip’s funky charm and turn the boardwalk into another glitzy, upscale pedestrian mall.

“The perception, not the reality, of an open and fair process became an issue,” Commission President Steven Soboroff said. “Because of that, they were gracious enough to back down.”

To ease community concerns, the commission agreed to hire another consultant to run a series of public workshops aimed at fashioning a compromise plan.

Jerry Rubin, a peace and environmental activist, hailed the panel’s decision. He heads two community groups that favor a less costly plan--$8.8 million--that includes fixing up the Venice Pavilion.

“We feel confident it’s going to be a nonpartisan workshop process,” said Rubin, director of the Alliance for Survival.

The first proposal calls for repaving the boardwalk with brick, creating areas for street performers, adding a beach path for pedestrians and skaters and tearing down the Pavilion, a 660-seat theater.

Rubin and other activists are against laying bricks and setting aside areas for street performers. Instead, they back a local arts group’s plan to raise $1 million for the theater’s renovation.