Guest Column

Long Beach zoning board should deny HALB project

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An application submitted by the developers seeking a variance at 530 W. Broadway, the current site of the Long Beach Hebrew Academy, should be denied by the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

The developers, Wittek Development and Sackman Enterprises, plan to build two 154-foot-tall buildings with 130 units in an area that has a 40-foot height limit.

The city’s code of ordinances states that the zoning board must take into account “the benefit to the applicant if the variance is granted, as weighed against the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community.” 

Based on that requirement, consideration must be given to the impact this development may have on environmental conditions. The development — in a residential area, no less — could create heightened parking problems, additional traffic and potential saltwater intrusion on the Lloyd aquifer, along with an increased strain on public resources. 

In August, the applicant — the developers filed for a variance under the name 73rd Meridian Partners LLC — received a letter from the city’s Building Department clearly laying out a series of explanations as to why their initial request was denied. Some of these reasons were:

• The height of the building “shall not exceed 40 feet”; however, the applicant is proposing a height of 154.6 feet — nearly four times higher than what is allowable.

• In terms of building area, a multiple dwelling “shall not exceed 35 percent,” yet the applicant is proposing 73 percent — more than double the allowable amount.

• In regard to density, the code requires 1,000 square feet of lot per dwelling unit. The applicant is proposing 576 square feet — approximately half of the allowable amount.

• Unobstructed views of the ocean are required to be no less than 65 percent of the width of the lot. The applicant is proposing to cut the view to just 5 percent — that is 13 times less than what is required.

 The applicant is fully aware of our code requirements, yet submitted a request for an extreme variance without any demonstration of a hardship that is not self-created.

The developers have yet to even purchase the property; they constitute a contract vendee that has stated it would only enter into a contract to purchase the parcel if a variance is granted, converting this two-story school in a private residential neighborhood to a large-scale development that is inappropriate for that area. 

While responsible, appropriate, community-minded development is welcomed in our city, this variance is excessive. 

Mandel is an attorney and a member of the Long Beach City Council.