How is the Venice glowing box saga still marching on? Way back in 2007, owner and designer Mark Baez was caught with a building that was about three and a half feet too tall, and this just got to the City Council this week. The Council, absent Venice member Bill Rosendahl, denied an exemption to the Venice Coastal Specific Plan that would've let the prefab building stand. The Plan caps buildings in the area at 30 feet, but M Cube, as it's called, is 33 feet, 4 inches tall. According to the Architect's Newspaper, Baez has agreed to remove the apartments' solar panels, although he hasn't yet. That'd bring the building down to 32 feet*. According to a West Los Angeles Planning Commission report on the matter, "The building was not measured from the centerline of 5th Avenue...Another source of error is that the building itself exceeds 30 feet in height by a few inches, but it is not clear if the excess height was the result of errors in the manufacturing of the building's components or in their assembly." Baez tells A/N that "To fix it would cost more than it cost to erect it in the first place," and he thinks the whole thing may just have to be destroyed. Baez should've gotten Ralphs to talk to the Council--two feet is just a few cans of Fanta. *[Photo updated to the correct Baez Venice cube.]
· Portion of Venice Box to Be Demolished [Curbed LA]
· M Cube Loses Boxing Match at LA Council [A/N]
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