UPDATE: There has been a time and venue change for Rick Caruso of Caruso Affiliated to clarify his plans to the Village Project Land Use Committee, a sub-committee of the Pacific Palisades Community Council. The meeting on Thursday, Oct. 29 will now take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the “big” gym at Palisades Charter High School. (The meeting was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. at the former US Bank building.)
By ALEXANDRIA BORDAS | Reporter
In an exclusive interview with the Palisadian-Post, Rick Caruso of Caruso Affiliated revealed that the permit process for his Palisades Village project began this week.
In conjunction with that, Caruso said he will be stepping up his engagement with the community and is scheduled to appear at a meeting Thursday, Oct. 29.
The meeting will take place at the former US Bank building located adjacent to the Mobil station on Sunset Blvd. near Swarthmore at 6 p.m.
Caruso explained that the Oct. 29 meeting is an opportunity for his team to clarify the project to the Village Project Land Use Committee, a sub-committee of the Pacific Palisades Community Council. The community is also invited to attend.
“We can talk about anything the community wants to talk about because there are no rules going into that meeting,” Caruso told the Post. “We feel we have a plan that the community will like, but if there are things we have missed we will re-address them.”
During the Design Review Board (DRB) meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 14, board members expressed frustration regarding what they viewed as a lack of ability to provide input on the project.
“We are concerned that we are possibly not being informed of how the City intends to proceed with the Caruso application,” said Barbara Kohn, Chair of the DRB. “We’re the ones, this panel, with the power and we’re here to uphold the standards and regulations.”
In response, Caruso said his team has great respect for the DRB and wants their input as well as input from other organizations, businesses, homeowners association and individual residents in the Palisades.
“[The DRB] is important and we will listen to their concerns and do our best to meet their standards,” he added.
The DRB is a citizen-led, seven-member Board appointed by Councilmember Mike Bonin and is tasked with reviewing applications for proposed projects in four main neighborhoods: the Village, Marquez Knolls, PCH-Sunset and commercial areas in Santa Monica Canyon.
Caruso emphasized that his team is being responsive to the community’s input. “We already reduced the size of the [proposed Bay Theater] movie marquee by 25 percent based on community input.”
The developer added that they are building 60 percent less than what current zoning laws would allow on the 3.14 acre parcel that includes Swarthmore Avenue (except the buildings housing P2, and Madison and the US Bank), Sunset Blvd. through Pearl Dragon (except the building housing Denton Jewelers) and the outdoor parking lot.
DRB board member Paul Darrall expressed concern over not having enough opportunities for residents to share their thoughts on the project.
Kohn agreed, adding, “If we can’t do our jobs because of things going on behind the scenes then why do we bother at all?”
Caruso said he is not working to circumvent anyone and that the timeline for a meeting with the DRB depends on the city’s scheduling.
“We are supposed to meet with [the DRB] at the tail end of the process, but we are trying to get permission to meet with them earlier,” Caruso said. “For the record, we’re not in control of when that meeting happens. We’re following the City’s process and as soon as city allows us to meet we will.”
Overall, Caruso is looking forward to spending more time in the Palisades in the coming months speaking to community members as his team moves forward on the Palisades Village project.
Caruso said most people they hear from are “over the moon” about the upcoming project and eager for them to get started.
“We will have a series of meetings throughout this process that people will be invited to. In addition to that, we are always open to take people’s comments because this project has to be community driven,” Caruso told the Post.
Caruso representatives are also expected to attend the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Michael Gazzano, Vice President of Development at Caruso Affiliated, added that anyone who wishes to express concerns or feels left out of the decision-making process can contact him at mgazzano@carusoaffiliated.com at any time to discuss the project. People can also email via the website palisadesvillageca.com.
— Frances Sharpe contributed to this article.
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