The Venice Neighborhood Council Land Use & Planning Committee will meet Wednesday September 23, 2009 from 6:45pm – 9:45pm at the Oakwood Community Center located at 7th & California. On the agenda are 1205 Abbot Kinney (“Local”) and 313 Grand Blvd, the USPO Venice Annex. The US Postal Annex will likely be the most important real estate transaction and land use project in Venice this coming year.
1205 Abbot Kinney Blvd: Local 1205 Deli directly beside The OtherRoom Bar. Applicant Craig Weiss, represented by Eric Newman, a Venice architect, requests a Conditional Use Permit-Beverage (CUB) for an existing restaurant/market to serve beer and wine for on-site and off-site consumption. The proposed hours of operation are 7am to 3am. A zone variance is requested to provide off-site parking by lease.
313 Grand Blvd: USPO Venice Annex: LUPC to take public comment and deliberate and recommend a course of action for Venice community on this issue September 23, 2009.
This may be the most important real estate transaction and land use project in Venice this coming year. Request for Qualifications for the purchase and development of the property were distributed to the public on September 1, 2009 and are due on September 30, 2009. A Request For Qualifications differs from a Request for Proposal in that it requires the individual or entity preparing the proposal to have the financial capability to complete the project as proposed. The RFQ can be found at the Web site www.313grand blvd.com. Grubb and Ellis are the realtors of record.
If we, the Venice community, intend to have a voice in this process and be actively engaged in potential negotiations with the prospective developer of the property, we must organize, and clearly articulate our ideas collectively. We all are aware of the many constraints and public needs that exist in the Venice community, i.e. parking, homelessness, community space, etc. LUPC is presenting the opportunity to have a focused discussion and plan future workshops to make sure that everyone’s ideas and voices are represented in this process.
