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MONDAY
03.19.18 Volume 17 Issue 103
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WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 ART AT TONGVA ..............................PAGE 3 EARTH TALK ....................................PAGE 4 KNOW BEFORE YOU GO ................PAGE 7 ORCHESTRA GRANT ......................PAGE 8
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Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
Planning Commission approves offices for Pico Boulevard
Courtesy images
BEFORE AND AFTER: A new development on the 2900 block of Pico Blvd has been given the stamp of approval by the Planning Commission.
KATE CAGLE Daily Press Staff Writer
An 18,000 square foot office building with ground floor retail is coming to Pico Boulevard after the Planning Commission approved permits for the project earlier this month. While several commissioners expressed disappointment that the project at 2929 Pico Blvd does not include any new housing, Commissioner Richard McKinnon was the only person to vote against granting the permit.
“This looks like a corporate office block that’s just been dropped into the landscape,” McKinnon said. He said the project missed the opportunity for more residential development. “I don’t understand the thinking behind it at all, really.” The site is currently home to a vacant auto repair lot and small one-story building between Yorkshire and Dorchester Avenue. Plans for the new 150-feet long, contemporary building include a glass facade on the ground floor with 8,396 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
More students replacing athletics with arts MATTHEW HALL & ANGEL CARRERAS Daily Press Staff Writers
Local students are increasingly bypassing school-day physical exercise in favor of extra-curricular athletics and many students are now using their extra time to double up on elective classes. The Santa Monica Malibu Unified District School Board is in the midst of a multi-meeting revision to Independent Study programs prompted by a new law. At their first discussion on the subject in February, the board heard concerns about the way Independent Study programs
impact regular Physical Education classes for grades 6-8 and staff returned in March with a more detailed analysis of the Independent Study Physical Education (ISPE) program. According to Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Dr. Jacqueline Mora, more than 150 middle school students have replaced their regularly scheduled PE class with an outside physical activity. Officials said that has resulted in students individualizing their education by opening up a free period in the school day. About two thirds use the slot to take a second elective, with the
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SEE ARTS PAGE 6
Current plans leave space between the building and sidewalk for outdoor seating and large planters. A staff report on the project said employees of the offices would create a “consistent customer flow” for a restaurant and contribute to pedestrian activity on the street. “The (neighborhood commercial) zoning district was intended to maintain and enhance small-scale neighborhood shopping districts that provide daily goods and services easily accessible from surrounding residential neighborhoods
while also serving a sub-regional role,” said the report. “This District provides for a scale and character of development that is pedestrian-oriented and which tends to attract and promote a walk-in clientele.” The “neighborhood commercial” or “NC” district only allows Tier 1 projects, so only about 15 apartments of 700 square foot could likely be developed on the site if the owner, Reddhill, LLC, decided to build housing instead, accordSEE PICO PAGE 7
Tesla plans a Supercharger Station and restaurant for Santa Monica Blvd KATE CAGLE Daily Press Staff Writer
Tech and automotive bloggers across the internet are buzzing about a recent application by Tesla to build a restaurant and supercharger station at 1401 Santa Monica Boulevard. The electric car company submitted an application earlier this month the solar-powered electric car charging facility. The station has a target opening of the end of the year, according to Tesla’s website.
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Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
The brief permit combined with a tweet from Elon Musk in January give a few clues to the future of the project. “Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA,” Musk said. There are currently 1,130 supercharger station in the North America, according to the Tesla website. It takes an average of 45 to 50 minutes to charge a Tesla in city centers so SEE TESLA PAGE 8
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