November 20, 2013 -- The board of directors of the North of Montana Association (NOMA) today voted unanimously to oppose the current proposal for development of the Bergamot site. We see the proposed project as far too big and too dense for the site, and we feel that it would cause unacceptable traffic problems that would degrade the quality of life of both the immediate neighborhood and the city as a whole.

In a recent meeting with officials from the development firm Hines, the company's proposal was opposed by representatives of all the city's neighborhood organizations, Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMMRR), and Santa Monicans for a Liveable City (SMCLC). 

Following is our letter to the Planning Commission.

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To:      Santa Monica Planning Commission

From:   Board of Directors, North of Montana Association (NOMA)

RE:      11/20/13 agenda item 8-A -- Bergamot Transit Village Center

The Board of Directors of the North of Montana Association (NOMA)  strongly opposes the current version of the Bergamot Transit Village Center. The project needs to be drastically reduced. It's too tall, it's too dense, there's too much office space, the amount of office space per employee was incorrectly calculated, and the project will generate way too much traffic in an area that is already at gridlock. Only a greatly reduced project with much less office space, and much less trip generation, would be acceptable.

We heartily endorse the statement by Friends of Sunset Park, which follows here.

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We have looked through the EIR and, out of hundreds of DEIR comment letters from governmental agencies, neighborhood organizations in both Santa Monica and Los Angeles, and many, many individuals, only one letter was in support of the project.  

The current proposal includes the following to replace the 200,000 sq ft Papermate factory:

-- 766,908 sq ft in total (50% larger than Santa Monica Place)
-- 374,434 sq ft of office space (further exacerbating the city’s jobs/housing imbalance)
-- Heights up to 84 ft (the same as the Water Garden, which many of us feel is too tall)
-- 7,585 new daily car trips estimated in the EIR
The proposed project would result in significant and unavoidable impact at 25 intersections, including:
-- 23rd/Walgrove at Rose Avenue & Venice Blvd.,
-- Cloverfield at Santa Monica Blvd., 
-- 28th/Stewart at Olympic Blvd.,
-- Centinela at Colorado, Olympic, I-10 freeway westbound ramps, & Venice Blvd.,
-- Bundy at Olympic, Pico, Ocean Park Blvd., & National, and
-- Barrington at Wilshire, Santa Monica Blvd., & Olympic;
1) Caltrans wrote in 2012 that existing average daily traffic on the I-10 Santa Monica Freeway is 192,000 in the vicinity of the project, and that "the project will have significant traffic impact."

2) The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) wrote in 2012 that, "The project should be directed to remove these impacts through either a scaled reduction or land-use reconfiguration of the project."

3) Another comment in the EIR noted that "By the DEIR's own admission, the project is in an area that is largely built out, and many of the surrounding intersections operate at or near capacity....The city and applicant should consider alternatives or project reductions which would result in less traffic impacts." 

4) The jobs-housing imbalance in our city, which has resulted from more than 9 million sq ft of office/commercial development since the 1984 LUCE was adopted, has created tremendous congestion on streets in Santa Monica and West LA, as well as the I-10 and 405 freeways. A key goal of the LUCE is to "reduce future traffic congestion" and "reduce regional commercial uses." The proposed Hines project violates these basic principles by a) adding 375,000 sq ft of office/commercial uses, and b) increasing traffic congestion.

5) Hines apparently estimated traffic and parking based on 286 sq ft per office employee. Meanwhile, a survey posted by the Wall Street Journal in 2012 states that "The average for all companies for square feet per worker in 2017 will be 151 square feet. Therefore,new daily car trips generated by the project could be closer to 15,000 rather than 7,585.  

In the Sunset Park neighborhood, all of our east-west "through" streets (Pico, Pearl, and Ocean Park Blvd.) are congested/gridlocked many hours of the day, not just from 5 to 6 PM, or whatever staff considers the PM peak hour. 

Our only north-south "through" streets (23rd and Lincoln) are also congested/gridlocked many hours of the day. Frustrated motorists take every possible side street and alley to try to get to and from work, schools, and homes, endangering pedestrians and other drivers.

On some streets we have cars idling in front of our homes for hours at a time, making it impossible to get in and out of driveways. FedEx diesel trucks use our residential streets and alleys to come and go from their headquarters in the Marina, fouling our air.

Residents have difficulty getting to and from work. Parents have difficulty getting their children to school, after school activities, music lessons, and CIF games. People with health problems have difficulty getting to and from doctors’ offices. Doctors and other local health workers find it impossible to get to professional meetings at UCLA and elsewhere. Another resident has written about getting stuck in traffic for an hour and watching her pet die before she could reach a nearby vet clinic. 

Is this what the LUCE meant by "preserving residential neighborhoods"? We think not. We already have the Santa Monica Business Park and Santa Monica College in our neighborhood, as well as cut-through traffic from the hospital district, the Special Office District, and the Cloverfield entrance/exit on the I-10 freeway. Our neighborhood cannot handle more traffic.

For these reasons, we strongly oppose the current Bergamot Transit Village Center. Only a greatly reduced project with much less office space, and much less trip generation, would be acceptable.

Santa Monica police have arrested a suspect in the recent rash of smash-and-grab burglaries on Montana Avenue, and are continuing to investigate. 

Writing in Surfsantamonica.com, Jason Islas reports that Ronald Perkins, 55, was arrested Thursday. "At this time (Perkins) has been arrested in connection with the burglaries,” SMPD Spokesperson Sergeant Jay Moroso told The Lookout. “That doesn't mean that he's the only one out there.” 

In what merchants say is likely the biggest burglary spree on Montana Avenue in more than three decades, six stores were targeted between November 6 and 11. The stores had their windows smashed and their cash registers broken open. SMPD sources told NOMA that two similar burglaries occurred on Lincoln Boulevard and Main Street in the same time frame.

Islas noted that the rash of break-ins roused the concern of the North of Montana Association (NOMA), which interviewed area merchants and sent out email alerts urging neighbors to be vigilant.

Several merchants told NOMA they are concerned that criminals are targeting the neighborhood because Santa Monica Police Department staffing patterns are concentrating patrols in downtown areas and at the pier, away from Montana Avenue. 

Dear NOMA members and friends,

The City has posted its Draft Zoning Ordinance, and the public now has a month to look at it 
before the document begins to undergo public review in hearings
before the Planning Commission and City Council. 

This important document has not been revised since 1988. The finalized version 
will form the basis of development decisions in this city for many years to come. 

An electronic version of the draft is available at this link: http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Zoning/Zoning-Update/ 
Hard copies are available at all Santa Monica library branches 
and for sale at the Planning Counter in City Hall. 
The schedule of public meetings follows here.

Planning Commission

December 11 -- Overview, Introductory Provisions, General Terms

December 18 -- Administration & Permits, Base & Overlay Districts, Residential Neighborhoods 

January 8 -- Base & Overlay Districts; all other chapters

January 15 -- General Regulations

January 22 -- Related Provisions

February 5 -- Recommendations to City Council

City Council

March 3, 4, and 11 -- review

March 25 -- adoption

November 11, 2013

Dear NOMA members and friends, 

We at NOMA have learned that there has been a rash of break-ins on Montana Ave. over the past week, and we'd like to alert everyone to be aware and vigilant of what is going on around you.

After talking with merchants, we have learned that there were five break-ins on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. In each of those cases, someone broke through a door or window, gained access to a store and made away with between $100 and $200 in cash. The stores hit last week were Number One Beauty, Andrew's Cheese, Palmetto, SemiPrecious and Citron. 

Jack Tour, who has owned Number One Beauty for 28 years, said his store was robbed at about 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The other four stores were robbed between 2 and 4 a.m. on Thursday, November 7. 

Then, Sunday night, another store was hit: Cheeky Chic, a pop-up store at 1624 Montana Avenue. After gaining entry by smashing the glass in the front door, someone stole designer leather goods with a retail value estimated at about $4,000. 

Montana merchants are saying that this is the largest sweep of burglaries on stores along the avenue that anyone can remember over the past thirty years. Several said they are concerned that criminals are targeting the neighborhood because Santa Monica Police Department staffing patterns are concentrating patrols in downtown areas, away from Montana Avenue. 

Scott McGee. the Santa Monica Police Department's neighborhood resource officer for our area, tells us there have also been at least one recent window smash burglary each on Wilshire and on Main Street. Officer McGee says officers are coming in outside of their normal working hours to work these cases. "It's important to us and just a matter of time" before the suspect or suspects are apprehended, he said. 
We will provide additional details as we get them. Neighbors are advised to notify police promptly if they notice anything suspicious. Dial 911 in an emergency; otherwise, the Santa Monica Police Department's non-emergency number is: 310-458-8491.

    November 8, 2013 -- Many thanks to all the concerned residents who turned out at the monthly NOMA meeting to share their concerns about the Council's recent vote to permit commercial training in historic Palisades Park with Council Members Gleam Davis, Ted Winterer and Kevin McKeown. The proposed ordinance had drawn sharp criticism from a coalition of all the city's seven neighborhood groups, as well as the Recreation & Parks Commission and the Landmarks Commission.

Many NOMA members and friends rose to ask the Council Members to reverse their decision, saying that Palisades Park is a unique, tranquil and irreplaceable haven for quiet contemplation and the enjoyment of nature. 

Council Members Davis and Winterer urged residents to give the ordinance a chance to work, and said they anticipated the ordinance would give the city an opportunity to impose order on the iconic gateway. Davis also said she felt  it would be impossible to ban commercial uses from the park, citing her observation of movie shoots and a recent children's birthday held there. McKeown said he opposed the use of Palisades Park by trainers, but supported the ordinance because he felt that some regulation would be better than nothing at all. 

NOMA resident and attorney Stan Epstein said the Council had approved a poorly drafted ordinance that would not be able to effectively regulate the use of the park without extensive revisions. (See Bill Bauer's column outlining Epstein's objections here.) Phil Brock, chair of the city's Recreation and Parks Commission, said recent changes in city staffing make it unlikely that the ordinance will be effectively enforced in any case, because park rangers have been assigned other duties that keep them away from Palisades Park. 

NOMA board members said they would continue to coordinate with other neighborhood groups to seek solutions to citywide concerns about commercial use of scarce city park land.