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PC: Site Plan Review Modification Regarding Building Material and Color Changes for a Mixed Use Project under Construction at 11924 - 11960 Washington Boulevard.
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PC: Site Plan Review Modification Regarding Building Material and Color Changes for a Mixed Use Project under Construction at 11924 - 11960 Washington Boulevard.
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Contact Person/Dept: Jose Mendivil, Associate Planner / CDD
Michael Allen, Current Planning Manager / CDD
Phone Number: (310) 253-5757 / (310) 253-5727
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [X] Action Item: [] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: (Mailed) Property owners and occupants within a 500 foot radius of the Project Site (5/22/18); (Sign) Posted on the Site (5/23/18); (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - Planning Commission (5/23/18); (Posted) City Website (5/23/18); (Published) Culver City News (5/24/18).
Department Approval: Sol Blumenfeld, Community Development Director (06/04/18)
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve a Site Plan Review Modification, Case No. P2018-0064-SPR/M, subject to the Conditions of Approval as stated in Resolution No. 2018-P003 (Attachment No. 1).
PROCEDURES:
1. Chair calls on staff for a brief staff report and Planning Commission poses questions to staff as desired.
2. Chair opens the public hearing, providing the Applicant the first opportunity to speak, followed by the general public.
3. Chair seeks a motion to close the public hearing after all testimony has been presented.
4. Commission discusses the matter and arrives at its decision.
BACKGROUND:
Request
On April 12, 2018, Culver West LLC (Applicant/Property Owner) submitted an application for a Site Plan Review Modification to allow a change in building materials to accommodate public art along the west elevation and to allow a change in accent colors for certain architectural features for a mixed use project currently under construction.
Existing Conditions/Entitlement Approval
The project site is currently under construction after issuance of a building permit and approval of the project by the Planning Commission on December 9, 2015. The Planning Commission approval and subsequent building permit allowed construction of a mixed use project consisting of 97 multi-family residential dwelling units and 13,604 sq.ft. of ground floor retail commercial uses on 1.35 acre project site at 11925 through 11960 Washington Boulevard and 11925 Louise Avenue. The project site is located in both the City of Culver City and the City of Los Angeles. The portion in Culver City is 0.97 acres in area and the portion in Los Angeles is 0.38 acres in area. All of the commercial area and 48 dwelling units will be in Culver City and 49 dwelling units will be Los Angeles. The project required approval of a Site Plan Review for the new commercial and residential development and an Administrative Use Permit for tandem parking spaces. Additionally a Density Bonus Approval from the City of Los Angeles was required for affordable units in Los Angeles. Attachment Nos. 2 and 3 show the project vicinity and the Planning Commission approved resolution with conditions, respectively.
ANALYSIS:
Project Modification Description
The modification includes:
a) Substitution of the Culver City portion of the west elevation metal cladding, facing Inglewood Boulevard, with stucco;
b) Design changes to the Washington Boulevard facing ground level architectural canopy approved with the original site plan review;
c) Accent color changes from red brick to blue along certain vertical and horizontal design elements.
Discussion
The project developer proposes to comply with the City's Art in Public Places Program requirement by installing permanent art on the project site. The developer has indicated their goal with the public art is to distinguish the building with a large painted mural on the west building elevation facing Inglewood Boulevard where it intersects with Washington Boulevard. The project is located between the cities of Culver City and Los Angeles and the mural will be located in Culver City. At that location the approved site plan calls for metal cladding which the developer argues is not an appropriate material for a mural application. The substitute stucco material will allow a mural to be painted with the art piece occupying the entire surface from the bottom of the second level above the ground floor retail to the roof line. The stucco canvas for the mural will have an average height and width of 44 feet and 70 feet respectively. The application of the mural will avoid windows and balcony openings. The canopy at the ground level facing Washington Boulevard will be designed to complement the proposed mural in regard to material and color. The canopy design will be finalized upon approval of the mural art work by the Cultural Affairs department.
Since the public art piece will occupy a large portion of the building fa?ade, the mural related building design changes are being referred to Planning Commission for consideration. The Art in Public Places program is otherwise not within the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission. The developer has asked for Planning Commission authorization to proceed with the proposed changes prior to proceeding further with mural and canopy design.
The developer is also proposing accent color changes from the original site plan approved red brick to blue along concrete vertical architectural elements as well as exterior facing balcony and stairwell areas. The vertical architectural elements are intended to break up the building fa?ade along Washington Boulevard with narrow color bands that vary from the sizing of street fronting glazing, balconies, and stucco walls
Design modifications described above are included in the modification plans in Attachment No. 4. The art piece shown in Attachment No. 4 is a concept piece only intended to capture shape and color elements of the art piece's final design. There is no concept design for the canopy because the developer wishes the artist to make such changes only after final mural design has been approved.
Planning Commission and Cultural Affairs Commission Decisions
The Planning Commission is being asked to consider the west elevation material change from metal cladding to stucco, the accent color change, and the future revision to the canopy design upon mural artwork approval by the Cultural Affairs Commission. The Cultural Affairs Commission will decide if the mural and the accented canopy satisfy the Project's Art in Public Places requirement.
Public Comments
As of the writing of this report, no comments have been submitted to the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines, a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) finding, was adopted by the Planning Commission on December 9, 2015, which determined that the project will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment and that a MND finding was appropriate. The modification is within the scope of the adopted MND and the circumstances under which the MND was prepared have not significantly changed and no new significant information has been found that would impact the MND, and therefore no new environmental analysis is required.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:
The following alternative actions may be considered by the Planning Commission:
1. Approve the proposed project modification with the recommended conditions of approval if the application is deemed to meet the required findings.
2. Approve the proposed project modification with additional and/or different conditions of approval if deemed necessary to meet the required findings and mitigate any new project impacts identified at the meeting.
3. Disapprove the proposed project modification if the application does not meet the required findings.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Draft Resolution No. 2018-P003 with Conditions of Approval.
2. Project Site Vicinity Map.
3. December 9, 2015 PC Approved Site Plan Review Resolution and Conditions.
4. Modified Site Plan Review Elevation Plans dated May 3, 2018.
MOTION
That the Planning Commission:
Approve Site Plan Review Modification, Case No. P2018-0064-SPR/M, subject to the Conditions of Approval as stated in Resolution No. 2018-P003.