DEVELOPMENT – Manhattan Beach City Council rejects Project Verandas in 3-2 vote
by Mark McDermott Project Verandas, the 79-unit residential development proposed along Rosecrans Avenue in El Porto, was rejected by the City Council in a 3-2 vote Tuesday night. Mayor Steve Napolitano cast the deciding vote. Napolitano had remained silent on the issue since the Council began deliberating, in August, on the five appeals to the Planning Commission’s approval of the project. In a dramatic turn of events following another night full of passionate testimony for and against the project, Napolitano rejected most of the reasons the project’s opponents had urged for its denial, including its alleged lack of fit with the character of the town, which he said was not at issue. He also acknowledged the potential legal peril the City would put itself in by rejecting the project. “People are lining up to sue us,” Napolitano said. “And that’s fine, some will say. But not if we don’t have a leg to stand on. To deny this project because a lot of people don’t like it is like bringing a spoon to a knife fight. It just doesn’t work. And all the wishing and gnashing of teeth won’t change that. As I’ve said all along, we need a legally defensible reason to deny this project.” At least…
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