The Commercial Map
We all had a collective heart attack when we saw that Residential Map and we thought we knew what we had to fight.
Then came the Commercial Map. Notwithstanding its name, the map is really more residential than commercial. It contemplates first floor commercial with stories and stories of units over the commercial uses.
And wait until you get a load of those keys….
Commercial Correspondence Table Key
Unlimited stories anybody? 😳
That is what the key says for Howard Hughes (WPDR 25) and Century Blvd. (WPDR 26). How does unlimited even work in the flight path?
15 stories in east Westchester (WPDR 24)?
And what’s up with that WPDR 19 proposing 8 stories along Sepulveda and into Kentwood on Alverstone? City planners admitted in a recent meeting that they haven’t even sought legal advise on rezoning an HOA like Kentwood.
Commercial General Plan Land Use (GPLU) Designations
This key, excerpted from this table, shows that regional centers (WPDR 24-26) can have residential density up to 1 unit/200 lot feet. Same for community centers (WPDR 17-22). Neighborhood centers can build residential up to 1 unit/400 feet.
Commercial lots are generally bigger, but to visualized these densities, just think about your neighbor’s 6000′ lot. If it were deemed commercial, you could see up to 30 units on that small lot.
And not a village in sight for us! Am I the only one who thinks our Triangle would make a nice village?? Or how about a hip village in Osage for the metro station? Swing and a miss, planners!
Commercial Map Conclusion
This plan contemplates high rise density along our corridors. While that is a strategy that makes sense in many other Los Angeles communities, it doesn’t in Westchester.
Why? Well we have this little thing called LAX that greatly relies on and burdens our corridors already. Has anybody mentioned this commercial plan to LAX??
This Commercial Map, to the extent it upzones anything on Sepulveda and Lincoln, is an unmitigated disaster vis-a-vis LAX and us dealing with LAX.
Nothing along Lincoln or Sepulveda should be upsized. Full stop. Period.
Ditto regarding Manchester. Manchester is a major beach access route for inland beach goers and a major evacuation route for Playa del Rey & Westchester in case of natural disaster.
There is no denying that Westchester & Playa del Rey are mostly landlocked. Our arterials are our lifelines.
Adding units on corridors other than Lincoln, Manchester and Sepulveda might make some sense, but how many units do we need with a declining population?
And don’t forget we have 2M sq ft of commercial space coming to the Northside Project. This could impact Manchester in a big way, too. The Northside Project makes sense as a buffer to LAX for our community, but make no mistake, it’s a traffic burden also.
Concerned For Westchester Playa 