By Sam Catanzaro
At their regular board meeting tonight, the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) will reconsider their November 20 approval of Venice Community Housing’s (VCH) proposal for 35 mixed-use permanent supportive housing units at 720 Rose Avenue.
Venice Community Housing (VCH), the non-profit that looks to reduce homelessness, maximize affordable housing and empower low-income constituents in Venice, wants to redevelop what is currently their administrative offices at 718-720 Rose Avenue into the Rose Avenue Apartments. While bringing VCH new office space on the first floor, the centerpiece of this project is the inclusion of permanent supportive housing for 34 formerly homeless households. 50 percent of the housing would be for transitional aged youth, and 50 percent would be for those who have experienced chronic homelessness.
On November 20, the VNC approved the project with a 9-4-1 vote. Public concerns about lack of parking and frustration that VCH had not consulted with nearby residents about the development, however, led the VNC to put the proposal back on the agenda for their 7 p.m. December 18 meeting at Westminster Elementary.
According to the VNC Parliamentarian rules, the process to reconsider a previously approved agenda item is as follows:
1. The Motion to Reconsider must be made at the very next meeting.
2. It must be made by a Board member who voted on the prevailing side when the motion was originally presented. Any Board member may second it.
3. There must have been no previous action taken (such as sending a letter).
4. The Motion to Reconsider requires a ⅔ vote of the members present and voting to be approved.
5. If the reconsideration is approved, the original motion will be immediately placed on the agenda
and taken up by the Board. It will become like any other Main Motion and action can be taken by a
majority vote of the Board.
6. If voted by Board to reconsider, applicant’s representative will be given 15 minutes to speak
