It Takes a Village to Clash Over Westwood Project

A fight is brewing in Westwood Village over a proposed $100 million, 16-screen movie and retail complex, lauded by local businesses as the centerpiece for Westwood’s revival, but decried by influential homeowner groups as a mammoth mall that would overshadow the rest of the village.

Supporters say the Village Center Westwood would jump-start the village’s economy and lure movie patrons and shoppers away from nearby Century City and Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. Residents argue that the enormous project would stifle Westwood’s attempt to provide an open-air, high-end retail environment.

Neighbors--including Friends of Westwood and the Hombly-Westwood Property Owners Assn.--will meet Dec. 10 with Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Feuer to debate the project, which has emerged as a hot-button issue in his reelection bid.

Developer Ira Smedra--who owns the five-acre site on Glendon Avenue--plans a three-story complex topped with towers and domes that would house dozens of retail shops, restaurants, a 15-screen cinema and an IMAX theater.

Some residents balk at several aspects of the project, including one provision that calls for shutting down Glendon Avenue. They complain that a 110-foot high tower on the east side of the complex deviates from the Westwood Village Specific Plan, a land-use ordinance adopted by the city in 1989 that sets a three-story limit on buildings.

And residents believe that the project would generate far more than the 12,000 car trips a day estimated by the developer.

Neighbors are especially concerned about the 4,700 movie seats the project would bring to the village, bringing the Westwood total to more than 10,700--double the number at the Promenade and thousands above Universal CityWalk. The Westwood plan caps theater seats at 6,000.

Smedra promises that his project would do just one thing for the village: “Bring it back.”

For decades, Westwood was a busy retail area and a hot spot for movie premieres. But in the late 1980s a spate of violence scared off moviegoers and the recession reined in development. Now, everyone agrees, businesses are returning and it is a pivotal time for Westwood’s potential renewal.

“The key to the revitalization of Westwood is the development of that parcel,” said Bob Walsh, executive director of the Westwood Village Community Alliance.

The Village Center, a 2 1/2-year construction project, would be a Mediterranean-style complex with red clay roofs and a football field-size public plaza in the heart of the building. A supermarket, drugstore and other neighborhood service shops are slated for the plaza level, with retail stores on the ground level and theaters and restaurants on the top.

“I’m looking forward to it--it’s sorely needed here,” said Jeffrey Abell, an owner of the family-run Crescent Jewelers on Westwood Boulevard. “That dead space is not good for anybody. There’s always going to be some people that think it’s the wrong place or wrong time, but nothing’s going to be perfect.”

*

But others argue that the project’s 16 theater screens would take the village in the wrong direction. Movie theaters may have pumped up Westwood economically in the past, but some locals said they would resent the return of large nighttime crowds, the accompanying traffic and security concerns.

“That was the talk before--that we needed more movie theaters,” said Alvin Midler, vice president of the Westwood Hills Property Owners Assn. “It was probably one of the greatest mistakes. It killed the golden goose because they put too many in there. I don’t know how more movie theaters are going to help. It’s a smoke screen to believe that this is going to revive the village.”

But Smedra argues that theaters only comprise one-third of the Village Center and the shops would draw more business into Westwood.

“To attract the good tenants and the boutique shops, you need to create a draw to bring in the foot traffic,” Smedra said, adding that theaters have a proven track record for bringing in crowds.

Feuer said he will not take a position on the development until an environmental review and community task force report are complete. Last summer, Feuer assembled 22 people representing homeowners groups, merchants and UCLA to review the plans. Jeff Brain, Feuer’s opponent in the April 8 election, is opposed to the project.

“It’s a serious proposal and it ought to be addressed in an in-depth way that brings all the stakeholders to the table, as opposed to making decisions behind closed doors,” Feuer said.

Some residents warned that if Feuer supports the mall, they will withdraw their support for him.

“There’s going to be a lot of angry people, and they will probably take it out at the ballot box,” said Laura Lake, president of Friends of Westwood, a land-use and environmental group opposed to the project. “He is seen as an apologist for the project, not a protector of the village.”

Feuer said he is not concerned that his approach to the development will cost him votes. “People will always try to use issues of public importance for their private interests,” he said. “I feel very proud of what we’ve done in Westwood and . . . the decision I make will be based on the merits of this project.”