Panel OKs Phase 2 of Playa Vista

Over lingering objections from opponents, the Los Angeles Planning Commission voted Thursday to approve the second phase of Playa Vista, the Westside’s newest community and one of the city’s oldest battlegrounds in the controversy over development.

The vote moves developers closer to constructing the Village at Playa Vista, a mix of housing, office, retail and community space planned for 100 acres east of Lincoln Boulevard and south of Jefferson Boulevard.

“This is validation of a good plan,” said Playa Vista President Steve Soboroff. “This smaller, greener project was validated today.”

The list of Playa supporters includes Mayor James K. Hahn and Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, whose district includes Playa Vista.

For opponents, the commission’s vote was the second defeat in as many weeks.

Environmentalists concerned about preserving wetlands, Native American activists concerned over the treatment of ancestral remains, and residents concerned about traffic, noise and obstructed views are engaged in a fierce battle to keep the land as open space or a park.

About 450 attended the commission meeting. But after hearing from about 90 people during the six-hour meeting, commissioners not only voted for the project, they praised it as the kind of “smart growth” the city needs to help house its burgeoning population.

“We have to bring housing to the Westside,” Commissioner Bradley Mindlin said. “We can’t have everybody living in Santa Clarita and Simi Valley.”

The project will go to the City Council for a vote.

Developers describe Phase 2 as “the heart” of Playa Vista that will connect residential neighborhoods on the west side of the project with a commercial campus to be built on the east side, approved as part of Phase 1.

Phase 2 calls for 2,600 housing units, 175,000 square feet of office space; 150,000 square feet of retail and 40,000 square feet of community space.

Developers testified that the project was significantly smaller than in their original plan, which called for 10,000 residential units and a 750-room hotel.

For more than a quarter of a century, Playa Vista has sparked bitter debates. On Thursday, longtime foes squared off yet again, each with a vision of how the land should be used. In the end, the issue was the need for housing versus the city’s other pressing concerns.

Supporters and developers described Playa and plans for the Village as an answer to the housing crisis. Several speakers said their move to Playa had shortened commutes and changed lives.

Pam DeArmas said her husband reduced his commute to Culver City from 47 miles when they lived in the San Gabriel Valley to four miles now that they live at Playa.

“We have dinner together,” DeArmas said. “We didn’t have dinner together for 20 years.”

Kristin Barry, who is buying a condo at Playa Vista, credits the development for her move into homeownership. “I can’t afford Santa Monica and I can’t afford South Bay, but I can afford Playa Vista,” she said.

Developers described Playa as an example of so-called smart growth: dense housing along transportation corridors, with commercial development on site, reducing the need for cars.

“This is about families being able to stay together,” said Doug Moreland, senior vice president of development. “This is about children not having to leave the region because there isn’t any housing.”

Opponents were not impressed with the smart-growth argument and described a development that they said would increase the area’s problems.

“What is smart about putting Lower Manhattan on the last remaining wetlands, on the two most congested corridors in L.A?” asked Paul Herzog.

He and many other speakers said the city should preserve Los Angeles’ last coastal wetland ecosystem.

Many speakers were Mar Vista residents concerned about vehicles cutting through their neighborhoods because of increased congestion on major streets.

“It seems we in Mar Vista are getting the brunt of it,” said Dorothy Garven. “And we can’t even get a lousy left-hand turn signal at Venice [Boulevard] and Centinela [Avenue].”