DEVELOPMENT Manhattan Beach City Council delays Project Verandas decision
by Mark McDermott The Manhattan Beach City Council, after more than four hours of testimony, staff reports, and discussion, decided after midnight Tuesday not to decide on the five appeals filed against Project Verandas, a 79-unit apartment complex proposed in El Porto. The project appeared to face possible defeat as the first two councilpersons to announce their intentions, Suzanne Hadley and Joe Franklin, announced they would oppose it, while Mayor Steve Napolitano at one point bluntly asked developer Frank Buckley, “Why are you doing this to our city?” But Councilperson Richard Montgomery called for more time to consider the decision, making a motion to continue the matter until the August 30 meeting. “Bad decisions happen late at night,” Montgomery said. Montgomery’s motion passed 3-2, with Franklin and Hadley opposing, creating a cliffhanger on an issue that has riveted the community for much of this year. Project Verandas has faced a broad swell of community opposition, including a Change.org petition and an organized opposition group calling itself “Chill the Build” headed by a neighboring attorney, Andrew Ryan, who was also one of the five citizens who appealed both of the…
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