During its Nov. 13 meeting, Pacific Beach Planning Group updated the community on the latest developments with the controversial Vela high-rise tower.

The proposed development, a 22-story building project on four lots at 970 Turquoise St. dubbed the “Pencil Tower,” has a height of 250 feet with a hotel accommodating 139 visitors on nine floors. The project envisions 74 housing units with 10 units, five low-income and five moderate-income.

Karl Rand, immediate past PBPG chair, pointed out there are five classifications of development for proposed housing projects, noting the Vela high rise is considered to be a Process 5 Project, one of the most complicated. “The bigger it is, the more complicated it is in terms of the size and the complexity, that makes it a Process 5 project,” he noted.

Current PBPG chair Marcella Bothwell then presented on the Vela project discussing the California Coastal Zone where Prop. D, in effect since 1972, bars developments more than 30 feet in height.

“If I were going to pick a place to put a big hotel and have ocean views, I’d pick right here, which is what they did,” said Bothwell about Vela adding, “It has residential, commercial, and then the garage with two stories underground, and five stories above ground. And, because it’s in a commercial area, it (development) goes right next to the lot lines.”

Asked Bothwell, “So what do we get for this monstrosity? We get 74 units of housing total, 64 are market rate. There are 10 affordable units, five are very low-income and five are moderate-income. On top of the seven-floor garage are 139 units of visitor accommodations, which the City thinks is a hotel.”

Bothwell pointed out there may be some weakness in the municipal code suggesting the “hotel” could be rented out for longer than 30 days. “That is still up in the air,” she said. “But they’re technically visitor accommodations.”

Bothwell added developers have turned three upper-story units originally intended for families and turned them into penthouses. She added there are waivers and incentives for the project that the City cannot turn down. Those she said include the 30-foot coastal height limit, as well as a 60-foot height limit for the project’s commercial section.

“This particular building would have automatically been a Level 5,” noted Bothwell. “But because of state law, this is a ministerial permit, which is not seen by the City Council or the City Planning Commission. We (PBPG) don’t even get noticed. This is a policy issue that we need to say we do not agree with.”

Currently, Bothwell said PBPG is waiting for a letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development on the Vela project, noting HCD is “very pro-housing.” She added three legislators including State Sen. Toni Atkins and State Assemblymember Tasha Boerner as well as State Sen. Catherine Blakespeare have all written letters about the Vela project agreeing that it “violates the spirit of the law. We have also started a nonprofit, Neighbors For A Better California, which allows us to be politically active, and we have retained an attorney.”

PENCIL TOWER

Project: Vela, 22-story building.

Location: 970 Turquoise St.: The proposed, privately funded high-rise project is at the north corner of Cass and Turquoise, where the German Motors garage, Freddy’s Liquor store, and the French Gourmet are located. A 22-story building project is proposed on four lots with a height of 250 feet with a hotel accommodating 139 visitors on nine floors. The project envisions 74 housing units with 10 units (five low-income and five moderate-income).

Developer: Turquoise LLC from Los Angeles.

Architect: Carrier Johnson + Culture.

Building Height: 238 feet and 4 1/2 inches tall.

Size: 408,641 developed square feet / 29,134 square feet (4 parcels).

Hotel: 139 visitor accommodations on 9 floors; housing 74 units with 10 units (5 low income and 5 moderate income).