Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss agreed last week to meet
with Westwood community leaders to discuss developer Alan
Casden’s proposal to close part of Glendon Avenue for up to
one year, but many say Weiss has been largely unresponsive to
Westwood Village’s concerns about the $100 million
project.
Under Casden’s current proposal for Palazzo Westwood, a
residential and commercial development spanning both sides of
Glendon Avenue, the street would be inaccessible to the public for
a period of time during construction from Weyburn Avenue to just
north of Kinross Avenue.
Weiss agreed to speak with merchants within the next couple of
weeks, with a tentative meeting set for April 29.
Howard Katz, Casden Properties’ vice president of
community development, said the street would most likely be closed
for “substantially less” than 12 months.
Merchants have banded together to stop any kind of closure,
saying Glendon Avenue is a vital artery that carries much of
Westwood’s traffic.
Opponents of the plan have circulated a petition, which has
garnered over 500 signatures so far, calling for Weiss to vote
against the proposed street closure at an upcoming Planning and
Land Usage Management Committee hearing. Weiss is one of three city
councilmen on the committee who will vote on the proposal.
Yellow signs asking Weiss to stop the Glendon Avenue closure
have cropped up in store windows all over the Village. They are
reminiscent of the neon lawn signs reading “Jack Weiss, Stop
Casden” that dot properties from one end of Westwood to the
other.
Westwood leaders say Weiss waited too long to begin working with
Village residents and merchants to address concerns over
Casden’s project.
“It’s been a long time for all of us. Councilman
Weiss came on board with the community very late in the
project,” said Sandy Brown, president of the Holmby-Westwood
Property Owners Association.
Brown added that Weiss’ unwillingness to express a firm
opinion about many aspects of the project has hurt everyone
involved in the process of approving the development.
“When the councilman says, “˜Well, I haven’t
decided, I don’t know,’ it puts everyone in a waiting
position ““ it doesn’t help the developers, and it
doesn’t help the community,” Brown said.
Lisa Hansen, a spokeswoman for Weiss’ office, declined to
comment.
Charlotte Chastanet, whose family owns Muriel Chastanet’s
Fine Jewelry on Glendon Avenue, said she is glad Weiss said he will
meet with merchants, adding she believes he will be attentive to
their needs.
Martin Sok, general manager of Westwood Brewing Company, said
closing Glendon Avenue could harm some businesses in a way that
would be felt for years.
Sok said that foot and vehicle traffic that is normally on
Glendon Avenue would be diverted to other Westwood streets that are
already crowded, leading students and other frustrated patrons to
head out to Santa Monica or Sunset Boulevard instead of Village
bars.
It’s not easy to break a habit and when the street
reopens, business lost during the closure would not necessarily be
regained because people will have become accustomed to going
elsewhere, Sok said.
Merchants say an alternative to closing the street would be to
build Palazzo Westwood in two stages, completing construction on
one side of the road before focusing on the other.
“What I can’t understand is the construction people
said they’d be able to build the project without closing the
street,” Sok said.
But Katz said though it would be possible to complete
construction without closing Glendon Avenue, the resulting delay in
the project’s timeline would create a situation in which
cement and dump trucks would be a presence in the community for an
extended period of time.
He cited safety as another reason the street should be closed,
saying that with construction vehicles and dust dominating the
area, pedestrians would be better off taking an alternative
route.
“It’s not an area you’re going to encourage
people to walk and be (in),” he said.
Brown said though she feels Weiss has recently voiced increased
interest in ensuring the development resonates with the Village,
part of his shift regarding the project may stem from a series of
indictments filed late last year by District Attorney Steve Cooley
against Casden Properties’ vice president and
subcontractors.
Cooley alleges that these Casden associates participated in
illegal campaign donation activities. Weiss allegedly received some
of the suspect contributions, and announced his opposition to the
project shortly after the indictments were made public.
Laura Lake, co-president of Save Westwood Village, said Weiss
has routinely been unresponsive to residents and merchants. Lake
and others worked for years to stop Casden from demolishing Glendon
Manor, one of 12 Westwood buildings that remain standing from
1929.
That battle was won last month, when Casden’s proposal was
revised so that Glendon Manor will be preserved.
Weiss addressed grievances about Glendon Manor at last
month’s planning commission hearing, but Lake said the timing
was off.
“It’s taken us three years to get answers at the
last minute,” she said. “It shouldn’t have taken
lawn signs, it shouldn’t have taken window signs now ““
it shouldn’t have been confrontational. When people
don’t answer and they don’t commit to you, you take it
to the next level. That’s what the merchants are doing
now.”