Residents Opposed to Barry Building Bulldozing

The Final Enviromental Impact Report was released last week for Green Hollow Square, the latest step in the extended process required to approve a new shopping and office building on the site currently occupied by the Barry Building on San Vicente Boulevard.

"We didn't expect any big changes, but we were hoping," said Elin Schwartz, of the Saltair Neighbors, a neighborhood group that was created to oppose the project proposed by Charles Munger, the current owner of the property at 11973 San Vicente Boulevard.

The FEIR is one of the many steps required by the State of California and by the City of Los Angeles before a project can be approved.

Joel Miller, the land use consultant working for Munger, pointed out that the city's certification of the FEIR does not mean that the project will be approved, merely that the city is satisfied that the project applicants have fulfilled the requirements for a valid report.

"It's one of the key milestones in processing the required zoning approvals," Miller said.

The Draft EIR for the project was released last February and received over 85 comment letters, most of which objected to the razing of the Barry Building, which is an officially designated historical and cultural monument in the city.

"When a buildling has a historical designation, why are you going to come along and destroy it?" Schwartz asked.

She added that traffic and parking were other significant concerns. The Brentwood Homeowner's Association and the Brentwood Community Council both submitted comments expressing concerns that the EIR did not sufficiently address either of those issues.

The Final EIR contains the developer's response to the comments. In this case, an additional rendering was included, showing the project with the Barry Building retained and integrated into the larger project.

Miller said that there are several problems with the building as it stands now. It is not compliant with current code requirements for environmentally friendly buildings, nor is does it provide adequate access for persons with disabilities, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Additionally, the ceiling heights in the building are too low for current preferences by potential retail and restaurant tenants. 

Still, Miller agreed that integrating the Barry Building into the larger project was worth considering even if he did not believe it was feasible.

"We felt that it was important as a feasible alternative," he said. "[Integrating the building into the larger project] did not meet the level of project objectives. Certainly, it was worth looking at."

Schwartz, for her part, is open to the project with the current building integrated into the larger project.

"We're very aware that Mr. Munger owns the property and he certainly has a right to develop it," she said. "The EIR says that option number four [integrating the existing buidling] has the least impact on the community and that seems to me to be a good compromise."

The Brentwood Homeowner's Association will be discussing the FEIR at their meeting on Monday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m., at the .

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl offered no comment on the document, said his press representative Tony Arranaga, because he and staff members have not had a chance to go through it.