Council Hits Wall Over Car Dealership Expansion

By Teresa Rochester

It came down to slamming the gate and taking out the trash. And after three hours and 10 minutes of passionate testimony and intense debate the City Council opted to build a wall.

Heeding the cries of 10 neighbors, the council voted 4 to 3 for all wall, but not before spending more than an hour-and-a-half bandying about the merits of whether to include a gate or not.

Representatives of the Saab dealship on Santa Monica Boulevard said the gate - which is part of a less than 10,000-square-foot renovation project -- would be used infrequently and primarily by trash trucks.

But neighbors - one of whom appealed a 6 to 1 Planning Commission decision to green- light the project - countered that the gate would face an alley that is their front yard and claimed it would cause more traffic and pollution and pose a danger to the kids who play there.

The council denied the appeal but supported the wall and added several conditions, including changing the circulation pattern so that all traffic enters and exits on Santa Monica Boulevard. The council also required the dealership to provide a covered handicapped space and to add 18 more parking spaces, bringing the total to 69.

"I do support removing this gate and building a wall there," said Councilman Richard Bloom. "The building of the wall is self-enforcing. We've heard from the residents this is not a little issue, it's significant."

"If the concern is about the trash, recognize this is a real intimate setting," said Mayor Ken Genser. "This isn't only about traffic. It's about noise and stuff. Because of the real world situation here, it would be best to eliminate the gate."

Trash cans, which were going to be moved onto the parking lot, will now be placed in a small gated enclosure along the wall.

The appeal was the second time a 6 to 1 Planning Commission decision was brought before the council. In both cases, Commissioner Kelly Olsen cast the dissenting vote. In both cases the building belonged to the W.I. Simonson dealership. In both cases the architect was Herb Katz, who served with Olsen on the City Council. And in both cases Olsen's fellow planning Commissioner Darrell Clarke changed his position on the project.

Olsen appealed the first decision, which triggered a two-hour and 45 minute debate about square-footage and the placement of walls. On Tuesday the former councilman helped orchestrate the appeal, conferring with the neighbors who testified, waving and nodding to the council members and at one point holding up a message.

"There is alley access," said Olsen. "To say there is not going to be alley access because of the gate goes against history and human nature. This building is not at all oriented to Santa Monica Boulevard. This is a direct shot to this apartment building. There needs to be a solid wall."

"After two hours of the city council it makes me think we could have done this better at the planning commission," said Commissioner Darryl Clarke, who voted for the project.

Not all council members agreed with Olsen and Clarke.

"There is no reason to believe it will be used or abused," said Councilman Paul Rosenstein, who led a failed amendment to keep the gate and along with council members Pam O'Connor and Robert Holbrook, cast dissenting votes. "I think it would be a disastrous mistake."

Pam O'Connor noted that alleys are "secondary traffic arteries used to service buildings." If the council wants to change or amend that role, it should do so for all the city's alleys, she said.

Not only will the wall go up, the council hopes it will go up higher than the maximum eight feet the zoning code currently allows. Residents, the dealership and council agreed the wall could be taller, so the council voted to send the recommendation to the Architectural Review Board - the only body that can approve a higher wall. Dealership representatives said the wall would be landscaped.

But they contended that the gate, which would automatically close after a car drove through it, was an important part of the renovation, allowing trash trucks and a service truck, as well as emergency vehicles, to enter the dealership through the alley. Katz estimated the gate would be used four to five times a day to alleviate any traffic crunch on the car lot, whose entrance and exit face Santa Monica Boulevard.

"I think that gate is highly important. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill," said Katz. "We're not trying to fight with you. We called Mr. (Ed) Simonian (the appellant) to meet with all the neighbors and he never called.

"It's just not going to be the same thing. That's why I fought for it [the landscaped wall] for the neighbors, so they would have something pleasant to look at."

But Simonian, who was the only neighbor who opposed the project before the Planning Commission, didn't buy the need for a gate.

"If the business wants to work with the community, then work with us," said Simonian. "Remove that gate."