SR-6-M (53)
PCD:SF:PC
f:\ppd\share\ccreport\1995\playa2
COUNCIL MEETING: November 28, 1995
6
M
TO:
Mayor and City council
Santa Monica, California
NOV 2 8 1995
FROM: City staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Authorize Staff to Prepare a Comment
Letter to the Los Angeles city Council on the Proposed
Playa vista Entertainment, Media and Technology District
Project.
INTRODUCTION
This staff report recommends that the city Council authorize staff
to prepare a comment letter to the Los Angeles City Council on the
Proposed Playa vista Entertainment, Media and Technology District
Project. The letter will request that the City of Los Angeles not
approve the project until a properly noticed Environmental Impact
Report has been completed to fully analyze the impacts of the
project, especially regarding impacts of jet and helicopter traffic
at Santa Monica Airport.
BACKGROUND
Maguire Thomas Partners has proposed establishing a Playa Vista
Entertainment, Media and Technology Dlstrict near the corner of
Jefferson and centinela as part of the development of their Playa
Vista proj ect in the city of Los Angeles.
The entertainment
project would lnclude the following:
o Convert the existing Howard Hughes Plant Site of
approximately 1,700,000 square feet of permitted use
buildings to the same amount of entertainment, media and
technology office, sound stages, and studio support.
1
Q28~
o Modify Plan Area D from the Phase I Playa Vista Project.
Plan Area D, previously approved by the Los Angeles city
Council, called for 850,000 square feet of office, a 300
room hotel (approximately 255,000 square feet), and
55,000 square feet of community serving uses. The
modification would convert the 300 room hotel and 850,000
square feet of office use to 1,105,000 square feet of
Entertainment, Media and Technology office use.
It is assumed from reports in local newspapers that the District
would become the future headquarters for Dreamworks/SKG, and other
major companies.
The city of Los Angeles, in response to the project by Maguire
Thomas Partners, has proposed a mitigated negative declaration for
the Howard Hughes Plant Site. The documentation states that the
1,700,000 of office and industrial space has been occupied within
the last four years, so conversion to entertainment, media and
technology uses will not have any adverse impacts.
The City of Los Angeles is also proposing an Addendum to the
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for Phase I of the Playa
vista Project for Planning Area 0, stating that the conversion from
office and hotel uses to the entertainment uses will not have any
significant impacts after mitigat1on, and in fact will create less
vehicular traffic.
A November 21, 1995 letter from Friends of Sunset Park to the city
of Santa Monica identified potential impacts this project would
2
have on Santa Monica, especially as it relates to jet and
helicopter traffic at Santa Monica Airport (see Attachment A).
After analysis by Clty staff, it was determined that these impacts
should be more thoroughly analyzed in an Environmental Impact
Report prepared by the city of Los Angeles, since there is no
discussion of air traffic impacts in the current mitigated negative
declaration or Addendum to the Playa vista Phase I EIR.
If authorized by the Council, staff will prepare a letter which
will request that the City of Los Angeles not approve the project
until a properly noticed Environmental Impact Report has been
completed to fully analyze the impacts of the project, especially
regarding impacts of jet and helicopter traffic at Santa Monica
Airport.
The Planning Committee of the Los Angeles city council is scheduled
to hear an appeal of the project on December 5, 1995 at 1:30 P.M..
The matter is then expected to be presented to the City Council on
December 8th, 1995.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
The recommendation in this report will not have a budget or fiscal
impact to the city.
3
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the city Council authorize staff to prepare
a comment letter to the Los Angeles city council on the Proposed
Playa vista Entertainment, Media and Technology District Project.
The letter will request that the City of Los Angeles not approve
the project until a properly noticed Environmental Impact Report
has been completed to fully analyze the impacts of the project,
especially regarding impacts of jet and helicopter traffic at Santa
Monica Airport.
Prepared by: Suzanne Frick, Director, FeD
Jeff Mathieu, Director Resource Management
Paul Casey, Assistant to the Director, PCD
Tim Walsh, Airport Manager
Attachment A: November 21, 1995 Friends of Sunset Park Letter
4
ATTACHl\IENT A
F RlENDS6
OF SUNSET PARK
CI fY OF SANTA MONiCA
rlTY M ,A tl~. ~::-~"" r::;:' "f'
oJ. :Jrt(.;, I... ~ "'-
A Califorma non-profil corporal/on of Sunsel Park resIdents
'95 NOV zTl~{S~.r.reel, SalllQ MOllica. Calzforma 90405
November 21, 1995
Mr. John Jallli, City Manager
Clty of Santa Mon~ca
Clty Hall
1685 MaIn St.
Santa MonIca, CA 90407-2200
RE: IMPACT OF PROPOSED PLAYA
TECHNOLOGY CENTER ON SANTA MONICA
PHASE I ADDENDUM & NEGATIVE
CONSIDERED BY CITY OF LOS ANGELES
VISTA ENTERTAINMENT, MEDIA,
AIRPORT AND TRAFFIC PATTERNS -
DECLARATION CURRENTLY BEING
Dear Mr. Jallll:
The entertalnment, medla and technology center currently gOlng
through the approval process for the proposed Playa Vlsta proJect
on Phase I and part of Phase II WIll undoubtedly have an lmpact
on Santa Monlca's alrport ground and alr traffIc, as well as
vehlcular trafflc.
ThIS matter must be ImmedIately InvestIgated by the Clty of Santa
Monlca - ltS staff, AIrport CommlSSlon and Attorney - as an
appeal of the lssue may be heard by the Los Angeles Clty Plannlng
and Land Use Management CommIttee as soon as December 5th and
could go to the L.A. Clty Councll as soon as three days later.
Our concerns 1nclude the follOWIng:
1) Phase I 1S belng re-approved WIth a maJor addendum that
Includes an entIrely new street setup and a change-over from
offIce space to entertaInment studlOS. MaJor tenants belng
sought are Steven Spe1lberg's Dreamworks/SKG, AT&T and several
other maJor companles. These companIes are hlghly lIkely to
utIl1ze prIvate Jets, and helIcopters.
2) Although an ErR was promIsed by the developer for the rest of
the proposed proJect, that promlse has been broken by remov1ng
the former Howard Hughes Plant Slte from Phase II and declarIng a
MItIgated Negat1ve Declaratlon for It. This, even though the
slte lncludes new studlos and has 4 permItted hellcopter pads.
No EIR has cons1dered alr trafflc lmpacts from the proJect. No
Master Plan EIR has been certIfIed for thlS proJect. Hel1copter
pad Issues were brought up by Culver CIty 1n theIr scoplng
comments, but have not been addressed.
3) In our Scoplng Comments cn Phase II dated June 21, 1995,
FRIENDS very clearly ralsea thlS lssue agaln as a maJor concern.
Therefore, thlS 1ssue should have been addressed 1n the Phase II
Plant Slte sectlon (approxlmately 57 acres) that lS belng added
to Phase I, but lt was not.
4) Frlends was not notlfled by Los Angeles Clty Plannlng - Playa
Vlsta Dlvlslon - that thlS seetlon of Phase II was be~ng proposed
for a negatlve declaratlon, nor of the maJor Addendum to Phase I.
Therefore, we also were not not1ced that the documents were
avallable for vlewlng, and that there would be an advlsory agency
hearlng held October 12, 1995. Because one of our Directors has
followed the development very closely, we were able to provlde
so~e llmlted comments (see attached letter of November 2, 1995).
The notlce to the communlty has been woefully lnadequate.
5) LAX expanslon may result 1n non-commerClal Jets belng re-
routed to Sa,ta Mor1ca a1rport. Th1S fact along w1th an
lncreased de~a~d for prlvate Jets frow the rest of the
enterta~~me~t lndustry lS a reClpe for dlsaster for resldents
llvlng near Santa Monlca Alrport (see enclosed OUTLOOK artlcle
dated 11-20-95).
6) In add1 tlon the deve loper lS In the process of updat1ng the 4
hel1copter pad permlts that have unllm1ted use, and has stated
that t~ey "may" be used by t~e entertalnment center personnel.
Where wIll these helIcopters go for refuel1ng, and wll1 they be
used to con~ute to Santa MODlca or Glendale where Dreamworks has
lts other facIllty?
7) In addltlon to alr traffIC, the new proposed center wlll have
a maJor lMpact on trafflc 1n Santa Monlca. With many
entertalnment compan~es located ~n Santa Mon~ca, there wlll
undOUbtedly be Increased travel. Those Impacts should be
studled. As yo~ know, the orlglnal Phase r resulted in maJor
lmpacts to many Santa Monlca streets.
We urgently request that the Clty of Santa Monica Jo~n the appeal
of the Negatlve Declaratlon and maJor Addendum to Phase I to
ensure that an EIR will be done on the above mentloned lmpacts.
OtherWlse, we the resldents wlll have no ldea how thlS extremely
large proposed development w~ll impact us. Please also take any
further approprlate steps to protect our resldents from the
negatlve lrnpacts of thlS proposed proJect.
Thank you.
Slncerely,
'/1/ / I
-- L, ,~<'-~ t'
:/
/.,
/--/"
I ' /-~~/U,
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/- (- /:.. )
Rlchard H. BLoom, Presldent
FRIENDS OF SUNSET PARK
cc: Santa Monlca Clty Counc~l
Ruth Galanter, Los Angeles City Council
Mlchael Feuer, Los Angeles City Councll
Tlffi Walsh, Manager, Santa MOTI1Ca Airport
Santa Monlca Alrport Cornrnisslon
Laura Lake, Pres~dent, Frlends of Westwood
Save Ballona Wetlands (Appelant)
Clty Caunell af Culver Clty
Enclosures: FRIENDS scoplng letter of 6-21-95
FRIENDS letter of 11-2-95 to LA Clty Plannlng
Cornrnlsslon
OUTLOOK artlcle of 11-20-95
3
./f"RIENDS
OF SUNSET PARK
Preudent:
RIchard Bloom
I'l ce. Pres l dent
Jane Dempsey
Secretary'
Regula Ziegler
Treasurer
Robert BlImck
DIrectors
Barbara Brown
John Ezell
Jerry Greenwalt
Karen Greenwall
Fred Gross b Ian
EmnlJ] I e Hodgl n
Aaron McKiernan
Judy Par kes
A California non-profit corporatIon of Sunset Park reSIdents
2514 31st Street, Santa Monlw. Callfornw 90405
June 21, 1995
Linn 'Wyatt
Department of CIty Planmng
Playa VIsta PrOject
221 S. FIgueroa, Suite 110
Los Angeles, Ca 90012
VIA FAX & U.S. MAIL
213-237-0141
Re. PLAYA VISTA, PHASE II, EIR SCOPING
Dear Ms 'Wyatt,
ThIS letter IS wntten on behalf of Fnends of Sunset Park, a Santa
MOnIca neighborhood advocacy orgaruzation. The Sunset Park
nelghborhood is circumscribed by Pica Boulevard on the north,
Lmcoln Boulevard to the west, Centinela on the east and the Santa
Monica CIty lImit on the south By this letter, we are advIsmg you of
the followmg Issues/questIOns which we believe require response
wIthm the scope of the EnVIronmental Impact Report on Playa Vista
Phase II
\VIll the Project have a negatIve traffic Impact on any Santa Monica
street, mcludmg, but not hmIted to the following Sunset Park streets:
. Lincoln Boulevard
. 23rd Street
. 21st Street
. 17th Street
. 16th Street
. lVIanne Avenue
. Dewey Street
. 11th Street
. Cloverfield Boulevard
. Ocean Park Boulevard
. Plea Boulevard
. Pearl Street
'WIll the Project generate an Impact on Santa Monica Airport aIr
traffic, mcludmg, but not lImited to, jet and helicopter usage?
\Vill the Project generate an Impact on water pollutIOn levels m Santa
MOnIca Bay')
jllRIENDS
OF SUNSET PARK
Page 2
June 21, 1995
WIll the Project generate an Impact on aIr pollution levels m Santa
Monica generated by vehlclular traffic?
WIll the Project generate an Impact on pollution levels caused by aIr
traffic III reSIdentIal and commercial areas neighborIng Santa
Monica AIrport and the Santa Momca Airport flight path?
Will the Project have an impact on crime and safety in Santa Momca
and/or Sunset Park?
In combmatlon wIth the ProJect, WIll any of the following approved or
pending developments indIvIdually or cumulatively, generate an
Impact WIth respect to air audor water pollution, air andlor vehIcular
traffic: Manna del Hey redevelopment, Santa Monica CIvic Center
Specific plan development, LAX expansion, Santa Monica Pier Fun
Zone, Lmcoln Place, Arboretum project, \Vater Gardens phase II,
Playa Vista phase I The EIR should conSIder the Impact on each
Issue separately (eg \VIll the Project generate an Impact a) on
vehIcular caused aIr pollutIon In concert WIth the Manna del Rey
redevelopment, III connectIon WIth all proJects, b) on aIr traffic caused
aIr pollutIOn etc)
Thank you very much for your attentIon
Very truly yours,
RICHARD BLOOM
PreSIdent, FRIENDS OF SUNSET PARK
age: From. ~'rl"a Fax
I?/ENDS
SUNSET PARK
:t ..... --- ~""f(~..t...~~
ideM:
tLchard Bloom
I.Pnsldent:
lane Dempsey
"@tuy:
t!!:2ula. Z;ei;~i
lSurer:
,obert Bhnlck
"tors.
~rbara Brown
fohn Eze::
Ie:..)' Gree:1.....al ~
<aren Gree:1wa.:t
=red Gross:.J;,n
~ma.l:e Hodiln
~ar:tn \r]cK:'!r~an
Judy Parkes
'~Si Shiver
OreDa"ec ihu, Ncv 2. 1995 08' SO AM
.~v
~~
... ...._~~. ... ::"_.....~I.w~""--.-...-..;-~~~
. " -
..:.. Ca!'f:'1"r:la ;.cn-~1"cftt ccrporat:cr. of Su:uec Pa:-k r~s:den:~
:514 315' St~eer. Santa \1C:!1ca, Calrfcrma 904::
November 2,1995
Honorable CommISSioners
Planning Commission of the CIty of Los Angeles
LOS Anoeles CI\y Hall
220 N Spring Street
Room 350
Los A.ngeles, CA 90012
Re Playa Vista MMD & EIR Addendum
CIty Plan case 95A0276
Dear CommIssioners
Friends of Sunset Park represents residents of Santa Monica's Sunset Park
neighborhood (pop approximately 10,000) Sunset ParI< Will be directly
Impacted by the above referenced project both by vIrtue of traffIc Increases
and the fact that the Santa MOnica Alrport IS situated within the
neIghborhood
We strongly urge that you disapprove the MMD and flrst phase addendum
before you today untIl there has been a study o! the Impact of tl1\$ new
development on the Santa MonIca AIrport. facIlity Local studio uses
traditionally Increase the number of helicopter and Jet flights In and out 01
Santa Monica Airport whIch 1$ generally consIdered mOTe conV91l1ent than
LAX The current work up on the Playa Vista project IS defective In that It
completely Ignores thIS Issue
Also. we are concerned about the traffiC analysIS snowmg only a 670'0
Iilcrease over lhe historical plant sIght numbers The EIR IS amblQuous In
Its definition of "historical" and there IS no way to discern whether the
conclUSIons are reasonably related to current condItions
We urge you defer consideration of thiS Important prOject until these
questions and Issues have been adeouately addressed
Smcerely yours.
tft~ // ~ (!iJ
RICHARD H BLOOM, PRESIDENT
FRIENDS OF SUNSET PARK
RHB/mac
1. SM Airport
neighbors
complain
to council
By Jorge Casuso
STAFF WRITER
When It comes to the Santa Momca
AIrport, even the most seemmgly In
nocuous Issues can moblbze SUSpICIOUS
neIgh bors
That's what happened at Tuesday's
City CouncIl meetmg, when a half doz-
en resIdents denounced a contract to
add dIStance SIgnS to the runway and
repave cracked taxIways as another
veIled attempt to lncrease Jet trafl1c
The frustrated neIghbors handed the
councIl a ndeotape shot from the up-
stairs hallway wmdow of a resIdent's
West Los Angeles home, WhICh offers a
rmgslde seat to the landmg and takeoff
of some 25 Jets on a bus~' day, up from
five m 1990
The footage shows the rear of a Jet
Airport
IICHARP HAIlTOG/~iTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Norman Ernst plays a VIdeotape taken from hiS West Los Angeles home
Showing how close Jets at Santa MOnica Airport come to hIS property
revvmg up Just a few trees and rooftops
away
The whlrrmg sound crescendos as
branches rustle m a whIrl of sudden
wmd that blows leaves mto the house
In the ensuing calm, the camera cap-
tures a patlO strewn with toppled furm-
ture and shattered glass, a large um-
brella ripped and tossed from ItS base
bes hmp agamst the wall
"It's disrupted our whole life," saId
Norman Ernst, who has lIved In the
house Since hIS mother bougl}t It m
AIRPORT/A?
5" ,N... t>U 77-DoK /1- Z 0 - 9S-
<'
Mayor surpnsed at impact
l\1ayor Paul Rosenstein, who watched
the tape before the meetmg, compared Its
effects to a tornado "I never dreamed it
was lIke that," Rosenstem saId
Durmg the past few years, the rapId
growth of the entertamment mdustry on
the Westslde has contnbuted to a dra
matIc mcrease ill Jets usmg the small
smgle-runway arrport, accordmg to aIr.
port offiCIals Jet traffic IS expected to
mtens1fy when DreamWorks SKG bUIlds
Its StudIOS m nearby Playa VIsta
In addItIon, Los Angeles' Department
of Arrports 1S m the process of draftmg a
master plan that could encourage prIVate
Jets to use smaller ne1ghbonng airports
such as the ones In Torrance, Hawthorne
and Santa Momca
Santa ~lomca AIrport offiCIals, who al
iLady are mcreasmgly Inundated wlth
pre Jet 1952 "We've lost the use of our
house We can't use the patlo We can't
open the wmdows because then we have
dust on everythmg It's Just not rIght
that Just shouldn't be happenmg" '
The Emsts, who have med for a prop-
erty tax decrease WIth the Los Angeles
County Assessor's Office. say the fumes
have spoiled the backyard lawn, where
only weeds now grow, and has caused
the couple to toss out some iO barbecued
meals
~ angry calls from neIghbors complammg
of nOIse and fumes, note that the Federal
AVlatlon AdnllmstratiOn prohIbIts them
from lmposmg bans on Jets
"We can't dlscnmmate agamst a class
of arrcraft," saId airport manager Tun
Walsh "We can't Just put up a net and
keep Jets out ,.
Instead, offiCials have focused on en-
forcmg the 95 deCIbel nOISe lunlt mea-
sured by sound momtDrs 1,500 feet fi:'om
each end of the runway The lumt falls
between a kltchen blender at close range
- 85 deCIbels - and a rock concert - 105
to 110 declbels
The aIrport also has a stnct curfew
that bans takeoffs between 11 p m and 7
a m on weekdays and 11 p m and 8 a m
on weekends The FAA, however, prohib-
Its alrports from restnctmg landmg
hours
VlOlators face fine, suspenSIon
WIllful VIolators of the curfew or nOISe
standards can be fined 5500 and, If the
vlOlatlOns contInue. can be suspended
from usmg the airport The fines may
sound llke pocket change for the corpo-
ratiOns and wealthy mdlvlduals who
own Jets, but aIrport offiCIals say con-
cerns go beyond money
"Entertamment compames are very
concerned with VIolations," Walsh said
"They're warned about theIr profile m
the commumty They're not w1llmg to
risk that"
Carne Byron, the alrport's NOIse/Op-
erations coordmator, spends much of her
time matchmg neIghborhood complamts
with f11ght logs that hst aircraft activity
Usmg maps, two computers and a prrnt-
er, she tracks the flIghts, then contacts
the VIolators, many of whom are usmg
. the au-port for the first tIme
"1 work a lot With tranSIent pllots who
end up vlolatmg because they are not as
famIlIar WIth our procedures," Byron
saId "We ask them to do nOIse test read-
mgs and hook them up WIth regular pi-
lots"
Information dIstnbuted
Byron also sends nOIse abatement bro-
chures to fIXed base operators and res-
taurants where pIlots gather, as well as
other aIrports and flIght schools and to
compames contemplatmg usmg the aIr-
port The brochures outlme flIght paths
and gIve tIps that encourage pilots to fly
higher than usual on arrival and clImb
more steeply when they depart
In addItIOn, Byron sends the brochures
to the neighbors and takes portable nOIse
momtors to reSIdents' homes to gauge
the source of theIr complamts
"We have one of the strIctest nOIse
abatement programs 111 the country," she
saId
DespIte the stnct measures, reSIdents
complam that Jets contmue to break the
curfew and Charge that some pilots are
gIVen preferential treatment
One aIrcraft belongmg to a mIlllOnalre
who regularly uses the alrport has ex
ceeded nOlSe lumtatIons close to 50 tImes
Airport officlals saId the vlOlatlOns,
which occurred over several years, are
mamly due to weather condltIons and
safety precautions and are m no way
willful vlolatlOns
Although Jet fllghts may contmue to
mcrease, several factors will prevent the
problem from skyrocketmg, Walsh sald
Little room to grow
At 211 acres, 70 of which are unavail-
able for use, the Santa Momca AIrport
has lIttle room for more than the eIght
Jets, five helIcopters and nearly 500 pro
peller planes statIoned there
In addltlon, fuel pnces. at $225 a gal
lon, are hlgher than the $1 75 at other
airports
"Also, pllots don't hve on the Westslde,
they bve ill the Valley," Walsh saId
"They have a heavy mfiuence on where
planes are based "
Airport offiCials say that new technolo-
gy may help alleVIate the nOIse and pol-
lutIOn problems polICIes alone have
falled to solve
"Jets are much qUleter now than they
Shared goals J'.l...-:1
'I don't thmk our goals are d1fferen.t.:'J~
Lamm sald "We want safety We don;t-:-'
want the nOIse We don't want the fumes. .
Our goals are lOa percent m agreement~' ,
For now, neighbors are encouraged by ,
the recent nammg of two Sunset Park
reSidents - Eileen Hecht and DaVid Ka-
plan - to the AIrport CommISSIOn,
whIch has been m a taIlspm SInce 1ts
chaIrman, John Ezell, reSIgned 1Il March
The commISSIOn, which has operated I
with only three member~ for the past
half year, has been V!.l1ually dysfunctIon-
al
"The new commISSiOners know exactly
what we're trymg to say," said Jun Ddn-
aldson. an actIVIst who regularly attends
commlSSIOn meetmgs "They hve m the
flIght path where the nOIse and pollutIOn
are ..
.
FROM PAGE A:11:;
~..,
were," saId Jule Lamm, who IS one ~f.."
two pIlots on the five-member alrp(tt;:
commISSIOn "Technology IS movmg In
that dIrectIOn Some Jets you Just heaf>& '
whIsper gOing by" , _ y
Lamm laments the spIlt that has cle-
curred between pIlots and reSIdents He';~
notes that the vast majorIty of the more:;
than 200,000 operatIons a year are mad~~
by plOpe,ller planes whose pilots also D.P-, .
pose the Increase m Jet traffic that makes ,~
It more dIfficult for them to operate :;"
.......'!
.
FRIENDS c)
OF SUNSET PARK
A Califorma non-profit corporatIOn of Sunset Park resIdents
2514 31st Stren Santa MOnica. Califorma 90405
November 21, 1995
Mr. John Jalil1, C1ty Manager
C1ty of Santa Monlca
Ci ty Hall
1685 Maln St.
Santa Monlca, CA 90407-2200
I roJ1JJ @ ~ IT '0, i,
I ~] iV 2 I 1995 F
CITY COCJ~kiL
crry OF SA"~I~'-'o,;:.~~ _
RE: IMPACT OF PROPOSED PLAYA
TECHNOLOGY CENTER ON SANTA MONICA
PHASE I ADDENDUM & NEGATIVE
CONSIDERED BY CITY OF LOS ANGELES
VISTA ENTERTAINMENT, MEDIA,
AIRPORT AND TRAFFIC PATTERNS -
DECLARATION CURRENTLY BEING
Dear Mr. Jalil1:
The entertalnment, medla and technology center currently gOlng
through the approval process for the proposed Playa Vlsta project
on Phase I and part of Phase II wlll undoubtedly have an impact
on Santa Monlca's a1rport ground and alr traffic, as well as
vehicular traffic.
ThlS matter must be immedlately lnvest1gated by the Clty of Santa
Monlca - lts staff, Alrport Comm1SSlon and Attorney - as an
appeal of the lssue may be heard by the Los Angeles City Plannlng
and Land Use Management Comm2ttee as soon as December 5th and
could go to the L.A. Clty Caunell as soon as three days later.
Our concerns 1nclude the followlng:
1) Phase I 1S belng re-approved wlth a maJor addendum that
lncludes an entlrely new street setup and a change-over from
offlce space to entertalnment stud10S. MaJor tenants belng
sought are Steven Spellberg's Dreamworks/SKG, AT&T and several
other maJor companies. These companles are hlghly llkely to
utillze private Jets, and hel1copters.
2) Although an EIR was promlsed by the developer for the rest of
the proposed proJect, that proffilse has been broken by removing
the former Howard Hughes Plant Slte from Phase II and declarlng a
M1tlgated Negatlve Declaratlon for It. This, even though the
slte 1ncludes new studlOS and has 4 permltted helicopter pads.
No EIR has consldered alr trafflc lmpacts from the proJect. No
Master Plan EIR has been certlfled for thlS proJect. Hellcopter
pad lssues were brought up by Culver Clty ln the1r scop1ng
comments, but have not been addressed.
3) In our Scoplng Comments on Phase II dated June 21, 1995,
FRIENDS very clearly ralsed thlS lssue agalD as a major concern.
Therefore, this lssue should have been addressed 1n the Phase II
Plant Slte seetlon (approxlmately 57 acres) that 1S being added
to Phase I, but lt was not.
4) Frlends was not notlfled by Los Angeles Clty Plannlng - Playa
Vlsta D1V1Slon - that thlS sectlon of Phase II was be1ng proposed
for a negatlve declaratlon, nor of the maJor Addendum to Phase I.
Therefore, we also were not notlced that the documents were
avallable for vlew1ng, and that there would be an advlsory agency
hearlng held October 12, 1995. Because one of our Directors has
followed the development very closelYr we were able to provlde
some llmited comments (see attached letter of November 2, 1995).
The notlce to the communlty has been woefully inadequate.
5) LAX expanslon may result 1n non-commercial jets being re-
routed to Santa Monlca airport. This fact along with an
lncreased demand for private Jets from the rest of the
entertalnment lndustry 15 a reclpe for d15aster for reSldent5
llvlng near Santa Monlca Alrport (see enclosed OUTLOOK artlcle
dated 11-20-95).
6) In add1tlon the developer 15 1n the process of updat1ng the 4
hellcopter pad permlts that have unllmlted use, and has stated
that they "may" be used by the entertalnment center personnel.
Where wlll these hellcopters go for refuellng, and wlll they be
used to commute to Santa Monlca or Glendale where Dreamworks has
its other faclllty?
7) In add1t1on to a1r trafflc, the new proposed center w111 have
a major 1mpact on trafflc ln Santa Monica. Wlth many
enterta1nment compan1es located in Santa Monica, there will
undoubtedly be lncreased travel. Those 1rnpacts should be
stud1ed. As you know, the or1g1nal Phase I resulted in maJor
1rnpacts to many Santa Monica streets.
We urgently request that the Clty of Santa Monlca jOln the appeal
of the Negatlve Declaratlon and maJor Addendum to Phase 1 to
ensure that an EIR wlll be done on the above mentloned lmpacts.
Otherwlse, we the resldents wlll have no ldea how thlS extremely
large proposed development wlll lmpact us. Please also take any
further approprlate steps to protect our resldents from the
negatlve lmpacts of thlS proposed proJect.
Thank you.
Slncerely,
c t; t ~ (c( II f){-f:~c/? / I-~k )
/
Rlchard H. BLoom, Presldent
FRIENDS OF SUNSET PARK
CC: Santa Monlca Clty Councll
Ruth Galanter, Los Angeles Clty Councll
Mlchael Feuer, Los Angeles Clty Councll
Tlm Walsh, Manager, Santa Monlca Alrport
Santa Monlca Airport CommlSSlon
Laura Lake, Presldent, Frlends of Westwood
Save Ballona Wetlands (Appelantl
Clty Councll of Culver Clty
Enclosures: FRIENDS scoplng letter of 6-21-95
FRIENDS letter of 11-2-95 to LA Clty Plannlng
Commlsslon
OUTLOOK artlcle of 11-20-95
ji'RIENDS
OF SUNSET PARK
PreSIdent:
RIchard Bloom
VJce-PresJdent.
Jane Dempsey
Secretary:
Regula Ziegler
Treasurer:
Robert Bl1mck
Direct ors:
Barbara Brown
John Ezell
Jerry Greenwalt
Kar en Or een wal t
Fred G-ossblatt
Emmal1e Hodgin
Aaron :McKIernan
Judy Parkes
A CaLlforrlla non-profa corporatlon of Sunset Park resIdents
2514 31st Street, Santa MonIca, Callfornw 90405
June 21, 1995
Linn Wyatt
Department of CIty Planning
Playa VIsta Project
221 S. Figueroa, SUIte 110
Los Angeles, Ca 90012
VIA FAX & U.S. MAlL
213-237-0141
Re PLAYA VISTA, PHASE II; EIR SCOPING
Dear Ms. Wyatt;
This letter is written on behalf of Friends of Sunset Park, a Santa
Monica neighborhood advocacy orgamzatIon. The Sunset Park
neighborhood IS cIrcumscribed by PICa Boulevard on the north,
LIncoln Boulevard to the west, Centmela on the east and the Santa
Momca CIty limIt on the south By thiS letter, we are advlsmg you of
the followmg Issues/questIOns which we believe require response
wIthm the scope of the EnvIronmental Impact Report on Playa VIsta
Phase II
Will the Project have a negative traffic impact on any Santa Monica
street, including, but not limited to the following Sunset Park streets.
. Lincoln Boulevard
. 23rd Street
. 21st Street
. 17th Street
. 16th Street
. Marine Avenue
. Dewey Street
. 11th Street
. Cloverfield Boulevard
. Ocean Park Boulevard
. PICa Boulevard
. Pearl Street
Will the Project generate an Impact on Santa Momca AIrport au
traffic, including, but not limIted to, jet and helicopter usage?
WIll the Project generate an Impact on water pollutIOn levels in Santa
MOnIca Bay?
J/RIENDS
OF SUNSET PARK
Page 2
June 21J 1995
Will the Project generate an impact on aIr pollution levels In Santa
Monica generated by vehlclular traffic?
Will the Project generate an impact on pollutlOn levels caused by air
traffic in resldentlal and commercIal areas neighboring Santa
Monica Airport and the Santa Monica Atrport flight path?
WIll the Project have an Impact on cnme and safety m Santa Momea
and/or Sunset Park?
In combmation with the ProJectJ will any of the following approved or
pending developments mdlvldually or cumulatlvelYJ generate an
impact with respect to air andor water pollutionJ air and/or vehIcular
traffic' Manna del Rey redevelopment, Santa Momca CIvic Center
Specific plan development, LAX expanSIOn, Santa Monica Pier Fun
Zone, Lincoln Place, Arboretum proJect, Water Gardens phase II,
Playa Vista phase 1. The EIR should consider the impact on each
issue separately (eg WIll the Project generate an impact a) on
vehicular caused mr pollutIon in concert with the Marina del Rey
redevelopment; In connectlon wIth all projects, b) on aIr traffic caused
air pollution. etc.)
Thank you very much for your attentIOn
Very truly yours,
RICHARD BLOOM
PresIdent, FRIENDS OF SUNSET PARK
~;i~ ,. From. ~Irlna ~3x
'?/ENDS
SUNSET PARK
.~<":'o- ~ ,,~-!:'tf"~
Iden t:
tlchard Bloom
'.PnSJdent:
!ane Demp~C!y
"etary;
te 2"oJla. Zleiler
lSlJrer:
,o~rt 6hnlck
'e tors,
3arbara Bro.....n
lohn Ezell
ferry Greenwalt
<o.ren Greenwa.lt
:re~ Grog'oiatt
:rnrna..he liodiIn
:"aror. ~IcK:l!rna.n
!udy Parkes
'us> Shaver
c. eD:Ci" &C' Thu. NQV 2, 1995 08: SO AM
..-."
~...
.:: _ .......~.~..._........ ...~.~i-~-=-.4.w~-~.....~~
Io.-~ -.........
0..-......: ...
..:.. Ca.lIfornIa nen-profIt corporar.cr:: of Sl)nser Park rrsIden t'
:514 31sr Slreer. Santa .\1omca. Cs11farnta 9D-4C
November 2, 1995
Honorable CommtSSlonGrs
Plannmg CommIssIon of the City ot Los Angeles
LOS Angeles CIty Hall
220 N Spring Street
Room 350
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Ae Playa Vista MMD & EIR Addendum
Clty Plan case 95-0276
Dear Commissioners
Fnends of Sunset Park represents residents of Santa MOnica's Sunset Park
neighborhood (pop approxImately 10,000) Sunset Park wIll be directly
Impacted by the above referenced project both by vIrtue of traffIc lncrea~s
and the fact that the Santa MOnica Alrport IS sItuated within the
neighborhood
We strongly urge that you dIsapprove the MMD and fIrst phase addendum
before you today until there has been a study of the lmpacl of thIS new
development on 'he Santa Mon}ca AIrport facIllty Local stud\o uses
tradrtlonaHy Increase the number of helicopter and jet flights In and out ot
Santa MonIca A.lrport whIch 1$ generally considered more convement than
LAX The current work up on the Playa VIsta project 1$ detectIve In that It
completely ,gnores thiS Issue
Also, we are concerned about the traffIc analysIS shOWing only a 670;'0
Increase over the hlstonca( plant sight numbers The EIR IS ambiguous in
Its definItion of "historical" and there IS no way to dIscern whether the
conclusIons are reasonably related to current condltlons
We urge you dafer consideration of thiS Important prOject until these
Questions and Issues have been adequately addressed
Sincerely yours,
"e~ /! ~ C#)
RICHARD H BLOOM, PRESiDENT
f=RIENDS OF SUNSET PARK
AHB/mac
1 SM Airport
neighbors
complain
to council
By Jorge Casu so
STAFF WRITER
\\ben It comes to the Santa Momca
Airport, even the most seemmgly m-
nocuous issues can mobIlize suspIcious
neIghbors
That's what happened at Tuesday's
CIty Council meetmg, when a half doz-
en resIdents denounced' a contract to
add distance signs to the runway and
repave cracked taXIways as another
veIled attempt to increase Jet traffic
The frustrated neIghbors handed the
councIl a videotape shot from the up-
staIrs hallway wmdow of a resident's
West Los Angeles home, whlch otTers a
rmgslde seat to the landmg and takeoff
of some 25 jets on a busy day, up from
five ill 1990
The - footage shows the rear of a Jet
I II I III
=
~irport
Norman Ernst plays a VIdeotape taken from his West Los Angeles home
shOWing hOw close Jets at Santa MOnica Airport come to his property
revvmg up Just a few trc"'8S and rooftops
away
The whIrrmg sound crescendos as
branches rustle m a whIrl of sudden
wmd that blows leaves mto the house
In the enSUing calm, the camera cap-
tures a patIO strewn WIth toppled furnI-
I
ture and shattered glass, a large um-
brella ripped and tossed from Its base
hes limp against the wall
"It's dIsrupted our whole lIfe," saId
Norman Ernst, who has hved In the
house since hIS mother bougtlt It In
AIRPORT/A?
5 ~~I" t>~ '(7.L>oK /1- z~ - 9s-
i"-
~ -----
Mayor surprised at impact
Mayor Paul Rosenstein, who watched
the tape before the meeting, compared Its
eflects to a tornado "I never dreamed it
was like that," Rosenstem said
Durmg the past few years, the rapid
growth of the entertamment Industry on
the Westslde has contributed to a dra-
matIC mcrease in Jets usmg the small
Single-runway airport, accordmg to aIr-
port otliclals Jet traffic IS expected to
mtensuy when DreamWorks SKG builds
its studiOS III nearby Playa Vista
In additIOn, Los Angeles' Department
of AIrPorts 18 in the process of draftmg a
master plan that could encourage pnvate
Jets to use smaller nelghbormg arrports
such as the ones ill Torrance, Hawthorne
and Santa Momca.
Santa Momca Airport otfIcials, who al-
ready are Increasingly inundated WIth
pre'Jet 1952. "We've lost the use of our
house We can't use the patIO. We can't
open the wmdows because then we have
dust on everythmg It's just not right
that Just shouldn't be happenmg " '
The Ernsts, who have filed for a prop-
erty tax decrease with the Los Angeles
County Assessor's Office. say the fumes
have spolled the baCkyard Ial,l,'U, where
only weeds now grow, and has caused
the couple to toss out some 70 barbecued
meals
- .
angry calls trom neIghbors complaming
of nOlse and fumes, note that the Federal
AVlatlOn AdmmlstratlOn prohibIts them
from imposing bans on Jets
"We can't dlScrnnmate agamst a class
of aIrcraft," said aIrport manager Tun
Walsh "We can't just put up a net and
keep Jets out ,.
Instead, offiCials have focused on en-
forcing the 95 decIbel noise limlt mea.
sured by sound momtors 1,500 feet from
each end of the runway. The 111mt falls
between a kItchen blender at close range
- 85 decibels - and a rack concert - 105
to lIe} decIbels.
The airport also has a stnct curfew
that bans takeoffs between 11 p m and 7
a m on weekdays and 11 pm and B am.
on weekends The FAA, however, prohIb.
Its aIrports from restrIctmg landmg
hours
Violators face fine. suspension
WIllful vlOlators of the curfew or nOlse
standards can be fined $500 and, If the
vlOlatlons contmue, can be suspended
from usmg the aIrPort. The fines may
sound l1ke pocket change for the C011l0-
ratlOns and wealthy mdlvlduals who
own Jets. but aIrport offiCIals say con-
cerns go beyond money
"Entertamment companIes are very
concerned With VIolations," Walsh said
"They're worried about thell' proflle m
the They're not wllhng to
risk that"
Carne Byron, the aIrport's NOIse/Op-
erations coordinator, spends much of her
tIme matchmg neIghborhood complamts
with nIght logs that 11st aIrcraft actlvlty.
Usmg maps, two computers and a print.
er, she tracks the flIghts, then contacts
the VIolators, many of whom are usmg
. the airport for the first time
"I work a lot wIth tranSIent pilots who
end up vlOlatmg because they are not as
familiar With our procedures," Byron
said. "We ask them to do noIse test read-
ings and hook them up WIth regular pi.
lots "
Information distrIbuted
Byron also sends nOISe abatement bro-
chures to fIXed-base operators and res-
taurants where pilots gather, as well as
other aIrports and flIght schools and to
compames contemplatmg usmg the aIr.
port. The brochures outlme flIght paths
and gIve tIPS that encourage pilots to fly
higher than usual on arrIval and cll.ltl.b
more steeply when they depart.
In addition, Byron sends the brochures
to the neighbors and takes portable noise
momtors to reSIdents' homes to gauge
the source of theIr complamts
"We have one of the stnctest nOIse
abatement programs In the country," she
said
Despite the strIct measures, residents
complain that jets continue to break the
curfew and charge that some pIlots are
given preferentIal treatment.
One aircraft belongmg to a millIOnalTe
who regularly uses the all'Port has ex.
ceeded noise bmitatlons close to 50 times
Alfport OffiCIalS saId the VIOlatIOns,
WhICh occurred over several years, are
maInly due to weather conditions and
safety precautIons and are in no way
willful violatIons
Although jet flIghts may continue to
increase, several factors will prevent the
problem from skyrocketing, Walsh saId.
Little room to grow
At 211 acres, 70 of which are unavaIl-
able for use, the Santa MOlllca AlI'Port
has hUle room for more than the eIght
Jets. five helIcopters and nearly 500 pro-
peller planes statIoned there.
In additIon, fuel prIces, at $225 a gal-
lon, are hIgher than the $1.75 at other
airports.
"Also. pilots don't bve on the Westslde,
they live ill the Valley," Walsh saId
"They have a heavy influence on where
planes are based."
Airport offiCIals say that new technolo-
gy may help allevlate the nOlSe and pol-
lution problems pol1cies alone have
failed to solve
"Jets are much qUieter now than they
Shared goals )'.?"
"1 don't thmk our goals are d1tferent;'::;.!
Lamm said. "We want safety We don;t:n
want the nOIse We don't want the fumes
Our goals are 100 percent ill agreement".,
For now, neIghbors are, encouraged by :
the recent nammg of two Sunset Park :
reSidents - Eileen Hecht and DaVId Ka- \
plan - to the Airport CommissIOn, :
WhICh has been ill a ta1lspm SInce Its :
chaIrman, John Ezell. resIgIled ill March ~
Tbe commIssion, which has operated i
With only three members for the past
half year, has been VlTtucyIy dysfunction-
al
"The new commlsslOners know exactly
what we're trymg to say," said Jim Ddh.
aldson, an actiVIst who regularly attends
commISSIOn meelmgs "They live ill the
nIght path where the nOIse and POllutIon
are"
~
I-
FRO~PAGE ~~liJC
I ~ r ( ........:"\
were," saId Jule Lamm, who is one:~t;;
two pIlots on the five-member a~
"Technology < is moving in
that dIrection. Some Jets you Just hear'-a-J':
whisper gomg by" :. .;...
Lamm laments the splIt that has &~
curred between pilots and residents. He'.f,
notes that the vast IDaJonty of the more-,~
than 200,000 operatIOns a year are m.ad~~
by propeller planes whose pilots also Q,{l-t;:
pose the ll1crease in Jet traffic that makeS"
It more dlfIicult for them to operate .
..:....--'!,