Building Anticipation

By Teresa Rochester

Tired of buildings springing up next door to you, seemingly overnight? Thanks to a resourceful city staff member, Santa Monicans may have an easier time tracking developments in the city's pipelines.

Within a month, residents will be able to go on-line to see projects before the city's Architectural Review Board - often a project's last stop before developers begin to pull permits.

The colorful and enhanced web site, unveiled before the ARB Monday night, will offer highlights of each project going before the board along with staff recommendations, artistic renderings and full staff reports.

"We did this so we could have a web site that's a little more user-friendly, a little more neighborhood friendly," said city planning division staff assistant, Bonnie Clark, who came up with the idea. "I think the public would like this because they could get a better feel."

Clark came up with the idea to expand and simplify the information available on the ARB's web page while she was taking a course, offered by the city's Information Systems Division, on PowerPoint 2000, a computer program used to design presentations.