Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:32:00 -0700
From:
"Daveed Kapoor"
To: Travis Page
Subject: Re: 603 AZ: BUILDING VOLUME ENVELOPE STUDY
CC: Steve Traeger, Paul Foley
Thank you for the comments. We are working to resolve all of these issues ASAP.
RE: Review for Application Completeness and Plan Corrections
603 Arizona Ave. (07AA-009)
The cover sheet calls out 2,500 sq. ft. of commercial area but the site plan shows a significant amount more. Show accurate calculations for all areas, making sure the plan does not exceed the allowed FAR. OK
All outdoor dining area will be calculated into the total restaurant use square footage. If the total exceeds 1,500 sq. ft., it will be subjected to more onerous parking standards. OK
The stepbacks meet the minimum required but do not meet the intent of the Zoning Ordinance. This will suffice for the Administrative Approval portion of this project but may impede the projects progress through the ARB level. The C3 district is a downtown commerical district where density must be encouraged. If we take away units the project will become more expensive for the tenants. We have increased the amount of stepbacks from Arizona Avenue. We will work on new bldg renderings to accurately describe the revised massing. Let us know how we can adjust to meet the intent of the code.
The trash enclosure needs to be located in the subterranean parking structure. The Land Use Element of the General Plan requires that the ground floor street frontage be composed of pedestrian-oriented uses and pedestrian-oriented design qualities; having a trash enclosure front onto 6th Street is not consistent with this requirement and is not supported by staff.
A trash chute is not required per SMMC requirements for senior housing. However we integrated a trash chute into the plans and relocated the trash area away from the sidewalk. Because the site was subdivided in a substandard manner and has no alley, there will still need to be a trash staging area at grade - in this case the city is at fault for permitting a substandard lot division. No alley access means unsightly/unfriendly trash bins on the sidewalk on collection day.
We are incredibly frustrated that it took this long for you all to tell us to move the trash area. This trash area had been on the plans for at least five months.
Please let us know immediately if there is any other aspect of this project that staff can not support.
It truly is in ALL of our best interests to make this project excellent.
To improve communication we set up a 603 Arizona blog: http://603az.blogspot.com/
Our goal is to post design information here to document the process and facilitate easy commenting and posting.
This building will be deeded 75% senior housing and should contain a trash shoot and other senior citizen amenities.
Staff strongly recommends a lobby area be provided for the residents.
Every level will have an ADA compliant trash chute in a sealed compact vestibule. We have added a resident lobby/community room on the 1st floor that we will show you after we work through our trash area issues. The roof deck will be common to all and will have a pool. We want to incorporate solar panel canopies on the roof deck to shelter community tables.
A full set of plans inclusive of complete line elevations and accurate information must be submitted before this project can be approved.
OK, but please let us know immediately if there is any other aspect of this project that staff can not support. We can not afford to pay for more design revisions that you change your mind about six months later.
We apologize for lack of quality communications on this project to date - this is a complex project and it has taken a long time for us to solidify our concept. Now we are confident in our strategy and more eager than ever to make this happen. Hopefully the blog helps us work together. http://603az.blogspot.com/
The City of Santa Monica has a compelling interest to assure all of its citizens a fair and equal opportunity to participate in the business and professional life of the City. Please let us all put forth our very best efforts toward the 603 Arizona Project.
Thank you.
Daveed Kapoor