Developer Denies Snubbing Westside Community Members

An artist's rendering of Bundy Village.

The man behind a proposed Westside development that is opposed for its size by Westside Councilman Bill Rosendahl says he has not snubbed "community members," although a committee organized by the politician stated earlier Wednesday that Michael Lombardi had failed to meet with them to come to a compromise about the mass of the project.

Lombardi, who proposes to build a 385-unit mixed use development called Bundy Village at Bundy Avenue and West Olympic Boulevard, issued a carefully worded statement to the Weekly Wednesday:

"The claims that we are not meeting with community members concerned about the Bundy Village and Medical Park, and that we are ignoring the direction of the Planning Commission and Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, are completely false," Lombardi stated. "In fact, we met with some of our concerned neighbors just yesterday. For more than three years, we have held several meetings with numerous West Los Angeles, Brentwood and Mar Vista community members and organizations, and these meetings have included meaningful discussions and valuable feedback about the project. We continue to reach out to the community and hold these meetings, and I remain fully committed to working with Councilmember Rosendahl and our neighbors to design a project that will meet the growing medical and senior needs of West Los Angeles, while addressing the community's concerns."

What the statement doesn't indicate, however, is whether or not Lomardi specifically refused to meet with Rosendahl's committee on the project: A statement from Sara Melzer, a West L.A. resident and member of the committee, did not say he had failed to meet with concerned community members, the straw man in the developer's declaration, but rather that me would not meet with the committee specifically.

Some community members are concerned that the project, which will include housing for seniors, retail and medical space, will generate 21,000 additional car trips a day for the area known as Sawtelle. Rosendahl originally backed the project but quickly backed down when some residents protested its mass.