City Poised to Approve Highlands Project Without Changes

By JOHN HARLOW | Editor-in-Chief

City planners have “indicated” they are preparing to approve the deeply controversial senior living facility in The Highlands over the next few days.

This could prompt a flurry of appeals that may consume the rest of the year.

Although there are many concerns expressed by local denizens, from traffic and parking issues to light pollution and noise to the safety of the potential occupants in this relatively rural pocket of the town, the Palisadian-Post has been told that the blueprints, created by Brentwood developer Rony Shram, are regarded by city officials as up “to code.”

“The planners have heard concerns, but have no legal recourse to block the project,” a source close to City Hall said.

Plans for the pocket of land near the Casa Nostra restaurant on Palisades Drive have been in development since Shram’s 2014 proposal to build housing there was scorched by neighbors who described it as “condomania.”

City guidelines allow him to build an array of light industrial projects there, including a meat market or late-night stores, but he decided there was demand in the Palisades and beyond for full-time eldercare.

The Palisades is one of the fastest-graying cities in the state and if older people are unable to “age in place” at home, they at least want to stay in the same neighborhood.

The perceived threat of a four-story senior center prompted the creation of an ad hoc group called Highlanders United for Good (HUG), which has suggested, among alternative uses for Shram’s land, a pocket park or nature reserve abutting Topanga Canyon.

There have been at least two lively public meetings debating the prospect, at The Summit meeting place in The Highlands followed by the Pacific Palisades Community Council’s Land Use Committee, which disappointed locals when it said there was little it could do to block the plans.

The committee, apologizing for its “mushy” response to community concerns, listed them in a letter to city engineers but concluded that the plan to build a 39-foot high building in a zone ruled as LAC1 (commercial) is permissible under city codes.

Barring last minute changes, or a Highlands uprising, city planners will probably make their announcement very soon. The facility is not expected to fully open before 2020.

In the meantime, Shram is expected to meet with senior citizens in the community to find out what they need in the center.