Architect Refines Building Plans After Members Discuss Designs

On Saturday November 6, the Building Committee hosted a "Refine the Design"workshop for members of the congregation to review the latest plans and to commenton them. About 20 members of the congregation participated, many of them longtimeactive members with a good understanding of the space needs for the many activitiesthat occur in our church spaces.

Facilitated by our architect, Ralph Mechur, and Building Committee members,our discussion began with the topic of RE facilities, including the locationof storage, preservation of the room 4 mural, provision of movable partitionsin upstairs rooms, and other issues. A discussion of open space generated ideasfor developing a flexible play area for older kids, a fenced area for youngerchildren, and a long courtyard providing direct access from the new kitchenand Forbes Hall to Anderson Courtyard to be used for outdoor events. The dayconcluded with discussions about the sanctuary area. Many additional topicswere discussed and many participant comments noted on the plans.

The architect is currently refining the plans in response to comments emergingfrom the workshop. We will be updating the "Building Our Dream" bulletin boardin Forbes Hall with the latest set of plans as changes are made. We urge membersof the congregation to post their comments on the message board or to e-mailthe Building Committee Chair.

Additional design changes are likely to occur as we consult with the SantaMonica city staff and start to look at the cost implications of our design.We will need to remain flexible, collaborative, and able to prioritize as wedevelop a design that meets our needs and allows us to move toward our dreams.

The Building Committee is now meeting every two weeks on Monday evenings at6:30 p.m. in 1248 18th Street. If you would like to attend, please contact meby e-mail to confirm the next meeting date.

-Alison Kendall, Building Committee Chair

Congregation Votes 108-34 to Proceed with Plan; Sell 17th St.

In a crowded sanctuary on Sunday, September 19, the congregation as a communityvoted to move forward on development plans outlined in the Building Committee'sM-1 design. It then voted to renew the capital campaign to raise additionalmoney to pay construction costs. Finally the congregation voted to authorizethe immediate sale of the 17th Street property.

In a respectful, orderly, and issues-oriented special congregational meeting,over 130 members heard and spoke about maybe the most important choices to bemade in many years by the congregation.

The final vote on the first motion, to authorize the Building Committee to"proceed immediately with the development and submission of an application"on the M-1 design to the Santa Monica planning commission, was nearly unanimous.But before the vote was taken, there was plenty of discussion and questionsto the Building Committee. The M-1 design would include enlarging the sanctuary,adding RE classrooms on the 18th Street property, and moving the existing houseforward and refurbishing it as church office space.

Alison Kendall, the chair of the committee, outlined the steps leading up tothe congregation's vote on the M-1 design. These steps included three workshopssince the purchase of the 18th Street property in March, surveys of church members,research, and conversations with city, community, and UU Association officials.She also stated the urgent needs of the congregation for better RE facilitiesand for a larger sanctuary.

Alison said that although the M-1 design may be a compromise based on financialand time constraint issues, it was a good plan that had fewer constraints thanbuilding on the 17th Street property. Keeping the old house on 18th would removetime-consuming preservation issues. She said that after congregation approval,the Building Committee could fine-tune the design and work with interested churchgroups to make sure their needs were met.

Many of the questions raised centered on the vision for the church, what sizecongregation was desired (550 to 600, acknowledging that more could not be fiton the property in Santa Monica), open space for the children and for the congregation(an important consideration), and whether keeping and moving the old house wasa good idea (the house would be brought up to code and the rear rooms removed,making the house a good space for church offices).

Warren Mathews presented a financial picture that showed that the church didnot have a lot of money currently available to support capital construction.He also stated that the budget for 2004-2005 anticipated a $13,000 budget deficit.He had indicated earlier that it would be difficult to get loans for constructionwhen the church could not show that it was consistently meeting its currentexpenses.

The second motion, to authorize the Board of Directors to "renew the capitalcampaign to raise construction funds from the members and interested friendsof the Church..." was also almost unanimously approved, with little discussion.

The final discussion, to sell the 17th Street property, brought out the strongestdifferences in opinion. Beginning the discussion, Richard Boothe noted thatreal estate prices may dip, even in Santa Monica, and that the church couldlose out by delaying a sale. Rob Briner wanted to hear discussion on ways toboth keep the 17th Street property and proceed with the M-1 development. RayGoodman, Bonnie Brae, and Rebecca Crawford strongly opposed the sale. They feltthat the congregation was rushing into a vote on the property, that there wasenough of a possibility that loan guarantees could be developed, and that thechurch was ignoring and would forever lose the benefits that keeping the 17thStreet property would bring. They suggested that waiting a little longer beforeselling the property would cause no problems and would allow time to pursuefund-raising and loan possibilities.

Some of the congregation left before the vote on the motion, but when tallied,the vote was 108 in favor of selling the property, 34 opposed, and 1 abstaining.The vote included a number of absentee ballots.

The church now has a focus for its next steps, plus a lot of hard work stillto do. And after that a lot of construction dust.

- Nels Hanson

Our New Building Committee Leader Wants Us to "Sustain the Momentum"

"In planning jargon," says Alison Kendall, "I'm a Green New Urbanist, someonewho tries to bring different uses together and encourages walking and humanaction. My design philosophy involves exploring both community and individualneeds, integrating nature and environmental concerns, and expressing the uniquehistory and culture of the place."

Alison, our new Building Committee chair, joined our church and its BuildingCommittee last fall, shortly after she, her husband, Francois Bar, a professorof communication at USC's Annenberg School, and their children, Nick, 14, andJessie, 10, moved here from Palo Alto. Nick just completed our Coming of Ageprogram and starts ninth grade at Samohi this September. Jessie will be a fifthgrader at Franklin Elementary School.

Alison, who has graduate degrees in architecture and planning from Berkeley,owns a planning and design business in Santa Monica, offering services to citiesand private landowners. "I've had my own business since 1996. Most of my workto date has been in the San Francisco Bay area, where I prepared a plan fora 20-block area south of downtown Palo Alto, including a park, childcare center,historic buildings, single family housing, condo housing and affordable familyhousing, and other uses. I managed planning for converting Treasure Island NavalStation into residential and recreational use and was San Francisco's coordinatorfor converting the Army base at the Presidio of San Francisco into a nationalpark."

She has also worked on plans for San Diego and Sacramento, helped landownerswith master planning for their properties and planning approvals, and managedthe eight-person development review staff for the City of Mountain View in SiliconValley. She's renovated three houses and worked on historic preservation andrenovation plans for many more as a building designer in St. Louis and in Italy.

Born in Canada of Australian parents, Alison grew up in Pennsylvania "and movedto California as soon as I could, at 18 to go to Berkeley," she says. "I enjoytravel and new experiences and unconventional people. I've been a UnitarianUniversalist since age 14." The Kendall-Bar family likes living in Santa Monica."We've met lots of creative and friendly people here through the church andthe schools. I'm impressed at the generosity and commitment to social justicewe've found here."

As a member of the UUCCSM Building Committee, Alison helped get Santa MonicaPlanning Commission approval for the 17th St. project. "Although it is disappointingthat we are now further away from starting construction, I'm excited about thenew options we have with the house next door on 18th St. We can now providemore spacious classroom space, improve the social hall, enlarge the sanctuary,and link all these uses with beautiful, usable outdoor space.

"We are studying options for moving and renovating the old house, which haslots of great detailing and craftsmanship," Alison continues. "The toughestchallenge is our shortage of money. We need to be realistic and to make toughdecisions in order to see this project through to completion.

"There are many, many people who have given a great deal of time and moneyto get us to this point in our building process. Our space needs are criticaland despite the vitality and progressive nature of the church's programs, ourfacilities are dilapidated and inadequate.

"I hope we can sustain the momentum we have established so that we can beginto improve our facilities within a year," says Alison. "We need to make criticaldecisions over the next few months about reusing or moving the old house, sellingthe 17th St. lot, and raising over $1 million to move ahead."

-Paula Bernstein

Building Committee Provides Building Options Overview

The recent purchase of the property at 1248 18th Street, adjacent to the existingsanctuary, has opened up new and exciting possibilities for expanding and upgradingour facilities. Unfortunately, at a cost of $1.265 million, it has also absorbedmost of the capital improvement fund which had been built up to begin constructionof new religious education classrooms on the 17th Street lot, to expand thesanctuary, and to make access and code-related improvements to Forbes Hall.

Ironically, the purchase of the new parcel could move us further away fromurgently needed improvements to our facilities, unless we move quickly to makesome key choices and find a substantial amount of additional money to fund construction.This article summarizes the major options, provides preliminary cost comparisons,and explores the advantages and disadvantages of the options to be discussedat upcoming meetings June 2 and 19.

Options based on March meeting explored

Since the church closed escrow on March 31, the Building Committee has beenstudying options for use of the newly acquired property, upgrading the sanctuaryand Forbes Hall, and use or sale of 17th Street lot. The tour of the house andtown hall meeting held March 21 generated a wealth of ideas; more ideas haveemerged as members explore the back yard now accessible from Forbes Hall andpost their ideas on the alcove bulletin board. Building Committee members areconsidering these suggestions and drawing on their collective expertise in realestate, development, planning, and landscape and architectural design, as theyexplore options for all of the church properties with our architect, Ralph Mechur.

Building program priorities defined

Over the past four years, the congregation has defined three major prioritiesbuilding priorities. All three remain urgent:

1) Expand the sanctuary to provide less crowded seating for Sunday servicesby relocating the administrative offices and nursery space.

2) Address accessibility and other code issues in Forbes Hall by providingwheelchair accessible restrooms, elevators, and fire exits.

3) Provide adequate classroom space for the religious education program, includingnursery facilities, outdoor play space, and appropriately-sized classrooms notprovided in the current cramped second-floor facilities above Forbes Hall.

Planning Commission approved 17th Street

We currently have Planning Commission approval to expand the sanctuary, toremodel into administrative offices the space upstairs from Forbes Hall, andto build a new RE facility on 17th Street. Commission approval includes measuresto reduce church impacts on street parking. To actually build upon the 17thStreet lot and make the changes to Forbes and the sanctuary we would have toobtain Architectural Review Board approval, prepare construction drawings, developa parking management plan, and obtain building permits.

The church could decide to launch a new capital campaign to proceed with theapproved 17th Street RE building project and essentially "land bank" 1248 18thStreet until additional capital funding makes development on that site possible.In the interim, we can enjoy the open space behind the house and repair thehouse for storage or offices. The approved RE facilities on 17th Street posesafety issues and logistical challenges. The acquisition of the new parcel opensthe opportunity of locating the RE classrooms next door to the sanctuary, avoidingthe need for children to cross the alley, and creating a more compact campusthat will be easier to operate.

Estimated cost: $1,258,640.

Options for 18th Street properties are studied

In addition to the "17th Street option" approved by the Planning Commissionon March 3, the committee has developed three basic options focusing primarilyon the two 18th Street properties, to see how our current space needs can beaccommodated without using the 17th Street property. Each of these options wouldallow the 17th Street property to be sold or leased to help finance constructionand upgrade on the 18th Street properties.

While elements of these options can be combined or modified in many ways, thecommittee feels these three options represent a range of basic choices. Optionsare intended to explore a range of construction costs and physical changes.We have provided general "order of magnitude" cost estimates for renovationand new construction. These estimates are very preliminary and do not reflectdetailed estimates of the cost of renovating the house or major alteration ofForbes Hall, which will require further study once a preferred option is identified.

Options for reusing the 1248 18th Street house

There are two basic buildingoptions for the newly acquired lot: keep it to be reused as offices or classrooms,or remove it to be replaced by new construction. In order to maximize the areabehind the house for use as open space and RE classroom space, the committeerecommends that if the house is retained, it be moved about fourteen feet toward18th Street. Renovating the house may cost almost as much as building new space,and will limit options for new construction. But preserving the house wouldwin support from both neighbors and city officials, and might allow us to obtainsome flexibility on other requirements.

If the old house were removed, more extensive new construction would be possible,including the possibility of both new RE facilities and even a new social hall,along with up to 17 spaces per level in an underground parking garage. Removingthe house would require approval from the Landmarks Commission, which may findthe house eligible for protection as a historic resource, making removal difficult.It may be possible to donate the house to be moved to another site, or to sellits architectural features for reuse.

The floor plans on the following pages illustrate three land use options forthe campus. The text below summarizes the major options, their advantages, disadvantages,and cost estimates. These costs do not purport to show what the actual costswill be. They serve as a basis of comparing the various options.

Option M-1:Use house for offices

Phase 1: Move bungalowcloser to 18th Street and renovate for administrative offices.

Phase 2: Renovate and expand first floor of Forbes to the north, adding a newkitchen. Build a two story, L-shaped building containing RE classrooms aboveparking and ground floor nursery, classrooms, and play area

Phase 3: Renovate second floor of Forbes Hall for RE classrooms and other uses,and connect to new RE classrooms to the north.

Phase 4: Expand sanctuary seating area, relocating nursery and offices.

Advantages: Seven new RE classrooms built behind house in early phases.Good outdoor access for RE classrooms. Some of Forbes Hall converted to musicroom. Administrative offices in house provide homelike setting and provide securityto campus.

Disadvantages: Only three parking spaces provided, one accessible.Three classrooms above Forbes remain very small and narrow.

Estimated cost: $1,814,000.

Option M-2:Use house for RE classrooms

Phase 1: Move housetoward 18th Street and renovate for use as RE classrooms. Build single-storynursery and two classrooms with adjacent play yards, plus two parking spaces.

Phase 2: Renovate and expand Forbes Hall, including the kitchen. Renovate secondfloor above Forbes for administrative offices.

Phase 3: Expand sanctuary seating area, relocating nursery and offices.

Advantages: Fewest construction phases, minimal relocation of uses.Three classrooms open directly to play yards. Lower construction cost for one-storyRE facilities. Lower costs for minor remodel of second floor above Forbes.

Disadvantages: Classrooms in house and back of lot are very small.Administrative offices on second floor are hard to find, don