Land Use Committee Says ‘No’ to HUG

By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter

The war on the eldercare facility in The Highlands fought its latest battle on Tuesday, March 13, as developers and project appellates fired legal ammunition at each other in the form of public resource codes and state law.

Caught in the middle, the Land Use Committee had a decision to make, again.

Does the eldercare facility project, set to be built at 1525 Palisades Drive, meet the requirements of the California Coastal Commission?

Alongside his legal team, developer Rony Shram presented arguments in support of the project and addressed questions by the committee. Similarly, project objectors, who have been fighting the four-story eldercare facility tooth and nail since the beginning, local attorneys Jonathan Klar and Robert Flick, informed the board and community of their findings and presented possible proof that such a project would violate local laws in addition to endanger those who inhabit it.

LUC’s needle moved in every direction during the presentations but ultimately landed in the same place, with a 3-5 vote preventing Pacific Palisades Community Council from discussing the project again, much to the chagrin of LUC Vice Chair Sarah Conner, who moved to find the “use to be inappropriate, based on coastal law and compatibility.”

Conner’s disapproval was largely based on a letter previously sent to the committee by former West Los Angeles Planning Commission member Joseph Halper that cited the same violations pointed out by appeals submitted to the WLAPC by Klar and Flick, specifically a violation of Chapter 3 of the California Coastal Act of 1976.

LUC member Reza Akef was one of several who opposed Conner’s motion, saying it was “too strict.” A developer himself, Akef assured the enraged crowd that he had rejected requests from Shram to meet but was not comfortable derailing their project.

“It’s not where my heart is,” Akef said.

LUC Chair Howard Robinson occasionally stood to restore order and demand silence from the crowd, who were shouting accusations of collusion and bribery, laughing at the developers’ attorney Kevin McDonnell after he said the project would not be a commercial building.

One of few at the meeting who was in support of the project, PPCC Treasurer Richard Cohen noted that an eldercare facility is a need for the community, as there are very few spaces available at existing ones.

“We’re not getting younger so it would be nice if we could keep our parents close by,” Cohen said.

Highlanders United for Good member Marc Jackson urged the committee not to allow the project to move forward and instead vote in the best interest of the community.

“I am not going to take a vote on your matter at all if it’s to the detriment of my future professionalism,” Akef responded, taking the volume of the room to the next level. “What you’re doing is doing something against people who are just volunteering their time to do the best that they can with the law that’s presented to us and you are holding it against us. That’s not your place.”

Jackson later explained his stance on the matter remaining critical of LUC.

“Since there is so much community opposition, clearly something is wrong,” Jackson said to the Palisadian-Post after the meeting. “As the community gets more and more informed, the Land Use Committee isn’t following that wave and therefore, they are denying their responsibility.”

When asked for his thoughts after winning a vote in his favor for the second time, Shram deferred all questions to his legal counsel.

Now out of the hands of the Pacific Palisades volunteer government, the West Los Angeles Planning Commission will hold an appeal hearing on April 18, which is also expected to be a busy and noisy evening.