After a brief presentation by both opponents and supporters at last Wednesday’s California Coastal Commission hearing in Chula Vista, the commission voted unanimously to approve the controversial Palisades Landmark condo project in Castellammare, with several conditions. “I’m relieved,” developer Ken Kahan told the Palisadian-Post on Monday. “It’s been a long process. I’m happy it’s over. We’ve made a lot of compromises to satisfy the residents and I do believe the project will improve the area.” However, prior to issuance of the coastal permit, Kahan must provide detailed plans and final architectural drawings incorporating all of the changes that have been agreed upon with both the commission, the City of L.A., as well as local residents, which include limiting the overall height of each structure to 48 feet (as measured from the floor to the garage to the highest point on the roof), and allowing for greater distance between the buildings to further reduce the density. The commission limited the number of units to 61 (reduced from 82) and parking is restricted to 2-1/2 spaces per unit, which conforms to L.A. City standards. The commission further requires the developer to use contrasting earth and chaparral tones on the facades of the buildings so they better blend into the hillside. In addition, Palisades Landmark is required to monitor the level of groundwater on the property, as well as any slope movement and soil moisture prior to construction. By accepting the permit, the developer acknowledges and accepts the risk that the site may be subject to landslides and erosion and unconditionally waives any claim of damage or liability against the Commission, its officers, agents or employees. Castellammare residents have been battling the project since it was proposed by Kahan in the fall of 2000. Their concern centers on the advisability of building on the Revello landslide, where a 12-unit apartment building collapsed in 1965. Kahan’s property, located at 17331-17333 Tramonto Dr., will occupy 3.98 acres of hillside, overlooking Santa Monica Bay, above the Sunset/PCH intersection. The design, which resembles an Italian hillside town, will consist of eight buildings anchored by pilons into the bedrock, with parking provided in a subterranean garage. Kahan said it will be at least a year before construction can begin, as he has to give tenants who currently occupying the two apartment buildings on his lot at least that long to relocate, as per his agreement with them. Kahan’s biggest challenge is still how to best repair and stabilize the existing landslide, which requires digging down to bedrock and replacing it with compacted fill to support the proposed buildings. The plan also includes embedding soldier piles to shoulder the hillside. While the Landmark project now has the support of the Ocean Woods Terrace Homeowners Association, as well as several homeowners who have signed a confidentiality agreement with Kahan, still opposed is the Castellammare Mesa Homeowners Association, Community Council advisor Jack Allen, and Castellammare resident Alice Beagles, who attended the commission hearing. “No one has yet told us what the developer is going to do if there is a slide,” said Beagles. “All we know is that even the Coastal Commission doesn’t want that responsibility.” While safeguards will be in place to monitor the progress of the project, including how many truck loads of landfill are permitted on the site in a given day to mitigate traffic concerns, city building permits cannot be issued by L.A.’s Department of Building and Safety until an agreement is reached with the developer on where the required 16 affordable housing units will be located. While these condo units will be located offsite, they must be at within four miles of the coast line, as per the Mello Act.
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