How did Renaissance Academy convert 13,600-sq.-ft. of office space in the 881 Alma Real building into usable classroom space in less than seven weeks this summer? It was a remarkable feat ‘by any standard,’ said Ron Skarin, chief inspector of L.A.’s Department of Building and Safety for West L.A. When, exactly, did construction on improvements for the new public charter high school begin? ‘I don’t know,’ Skarin told the Palisadian-Post on Tuesday. Why was the work started without proper building permits from the city? ‘I don’t know,’ said Skarin. Why was a building permit issued by Building and Safety for the improvements to the terrace (lower) level just one week before RA received its temporary Certificate of Occupancy on September 17, even though extensive work had been going on in the space leased by the school for weeks prior to that date? ‘That should not have happened,’ he said, acknowledging the one-week discrepancy. The Palisadian-Post’s ongoing investigation of the controversy over Renaissance Academy’s use of space in the Alma Real commercial/business building intensified last week after the school applied to Building and Safety for a ‘change of use’ permit, which would give the school an E(ducation)-Occupancy, allowing for one person per every 20 sq.ft., instead of the current B(usiness)-Occupancy which is limited to one person per 100 sq.ft. The change of use would allow for over 350 students. The landlord’s reaction was swift. On October 5, in a letter to Alan Wendell, the chief inspector for Building and Safety downtown, Schem wrote: ‘I do not approve any building permits of any type, including change of use permits, to be issued with respect to RA.’ That same day, the school was told by Building and Safety that the reason it could not issue the change of use permit was because parking had become an issue. Under the Pacific Palisades Specific Plan, a high school requires ‘seven parking spaces for each classroom or teaching station.’ This plan technically requires RA, if and when it is officially permitted by Building and Safety to use all 15 classrooms, to provide a total of 105 parking spaces in the building. While the underground garage can accommodate up to 268 vehicles, and the school has only 27 designated spaces in its lease’reflecting the current permitted use of four classrooms’ RA said it only needs 20 spaces and has already applied to the city for a parking variance. ‘We’re only asking for 20 because our traffic study will show that with carpooling and the use of vanpools we don’t need seven spaces per classroom,’ said RA president Bill Bryan, who detailed for the Post on Monday the school’s plan to obtain the variance, which takes several weeks. A traffic study is required to measure the potential impact of an increase in vehicles in the area, and how the school plans to mitigate the problem. ‘First, notices will be sent to all homeowners and businesses within a 500-ft. radius of the school,’ said Bryan, president of the RA board. ‘A public hearing will be held, after which the city will make a determination regarding the number of parking spaces needed. Then the city will deal with our request for the change of use to occupy all 15 classrooms.’ But why bother with a public hearing when RA, which is its own school district under the charter school system, could invoke California government code No. 53094, which would exempt the school from the city’s zoning ordinances? Bryan said that ‘the [RA] board has passed a motion to invoke the code if necessary, but we don’t want to further inflame the community.’ From Inspector Skarin’s point of view the school’s request for a change of use to occupy all 15 classrooms ‘reflects what already exists and what was planned all along.’ He called the school’s current use of the unpermitted space ‘a calculated risk which could create a libelous situation for the owner.’ Skarin told the Post that his department would not intervene at this time because ‘there do not appear to be any life safety issues and the school is working to correct the situation by applying for the parking variance.’ While Skarin did say that there are penalties for doing construction without the proper building permits (paying double the permit fees, for example), it is rarely enforced. ‘Unfortunately, this is typical of what goes on’people come to us after the fact, as is the situation in this case. We work with them until they are in compliance.’ Skarin said that in his 30 years with the city he has rarely seen owner-tenant disputes and has ‘never had a case like this’ in which litigation is being threatened by both sides. ‘The position we take is that the tenant has the owner’s approval for the improvements. If there is a dispute it then becomes a civil matter, which we would not get involved in. When that gets resolved, we can then deal with the request for the change in use. If the owner does not agree, he can file an appeal to stop the process.’ Skarin is scheduled to review the school’s temporary Certificate of Occupancy on Friday, when it officially expires. The last time he reviewed it, after personally visiting the site on Monday, September 13, at which time he found that more rooms were being used than the four permitted, he recommended that the C of O not be renewed. However, he was overruled by his superiors downtown. ‘I don’t really know what went on there,’ Skarin said. Asked if Scott Adler, a member of the Renaissance board and former commissioner with L.A.’s Department of Building and Safety (1993-96), intervened, Skarin said he didn’t know but that ‘undoubtably his knowledge of the department presumably helped them get what they needed.’ Adler, an attorney, builder and parent of an RA student, told the Post that he did speak to Building and Safety about reissuing the C of O. While he was involved in the renovations on a daily basis from the beginning of August, and said that ‘some steps were missed’ in the rush to get the construction completed on time, Adler also said, ‘we were always working with plans to eventually allow for eight classrooms on the terrace level and seven on the ground floor. The only real problem turns out to be the parking and we don’t need nearly as many spaces as we would if we were operating a business here. We’re operating a school not a billiard hall or a bar.’ Having received clearance from the fire department last week, the school opened up the terrace level to 150 students and is allowing 65 students to use the space on the ground level. While that allows for a maximum of 215 students and teachers to utilize the leased space, there is sufficient room on both floors to accommodate the entire RA student body. The enrollment number as of yesterday was 324, 13 students less than the end of September. Landlord Greg Schem, who has recently installed video cameras in the building, reiterated to the Post on Tuesday that the reason he did not approve RA plans for his building is ‘because they were never submitted to me, even though I requested them several times.’ At the point he saw that the demolition had begun, Schem presumed the proper permits had been pulled and asked for copies of them. Asked why he allowed any work to go on in his building before approving the plans he said ‘because I wanted to be cooperative.’ He said the plans were finally submitted to him three or four weeks ago. When told by the Post that RA has this week allowed up to 215 students in the building Schem was upset. ‘In spite of what the fire marshal says, if the school continues to allow that many students it will force us into the position of terminating the lease earlier.’ As of now, RA’s lease with Schem, which does not specify how many students may occupy the building, terminates June 16, 2005. The Renaissance Academy Charter, which Schem said he had not seen until recently, allows for growth up to 400 students over three years. Palisadian-Post reporter Alyson Sena contributed to this report.
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