Moratorium on Building Sought in Wilmington

Roused by a surge of high-density apartment construction at a time when Wilmington is being studied for widespread down-zoning, residents here have begun calling for strict controls on development--including a moratorium--until a new zoning plan is enacted.

A city-appointed citizens’ planning group last week unanimously voted to speed up its study of proposed revisions to Wilmington’s zoning map and to present its suggestions to the Los Angeles Planning Department by mid-December. The group voiced hopes that the Los Angeles City Council will move to restrict development in Wilmington immediately after the proposals are submitted.

Scott Hanlon, the planning group’s chairman, said the group is seeking to have an urgency ordinance approved that would make the proposed zoning changes take effect immediately, if such a step is legal, pending the adoption of a final plan in about a year. The group is proposing revisions for both Wilmington and Harbor City.

“In general, our plan is somewhat more restrictive than the current plan and, in some parts of Wilmington, a whole lot more restrictive,” Hanlon said.

Pushing for Moratorium

At the same time, a Wilmington homeowners’ group has gone a step further, pushing for a moratorium on all high-density apartment development until the zoning proposals--part of a broader “community plan”--are formally adopted. The group so far has collected about 1,000 residents’ signatures on a petition asking harbor-area Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores to take immediate action to limit high-density apartment development.

The homeowners’ group met with Flores on Oct. 23 to request that she lead the moratorium effort. According to group members, Flores said she did not believe the council could legally enact a moratorium because the proposed zoning revisions are not completed. Group members said that Flores said she would seek legal clarification.

Flores could not be reached for comment last week.

However, Assistant City Atty. Anthony Alperin said such a moratorium is legal and is not contingent on completion of proposed zoning revisions.

“The purpose of a moratorium is to put a halt to development while the city is studying zoning and planning regulations for revision,” Alperin said. “If the community plan is being studied for revision, it is certainly legally appropriate to impose a moratorium, pending the final adoption of the plan. . . . A moratorium would hold development in abeyance while new regulations are being considered.”

Appears to Be Eligible

Alperin said a moratorium is usually set for up to a year, after which it may be extended. He said moratoriums are usually imposed when the revision of a community plan is nearing its final stages, and said Wilmington appears to be eligible.

But the urgency ordinance described by the planning group would not be legal, Alperin said. All zoning changes must be routed through the full government process, including consideration at public hearings and by appropriate government subcommittees and commissions, he said.

Members of both the planning group and the homeowners’ association said their requests for the new restrictions were spurred by the sudden proliferation of high-density apartment developments in Wilmington. According to the homeowners’ group, about 50 new apartment developments--representing a total of about 1,200 new units--have been constructed or planned during the last year in Wilmington, a community of about 40,000.

“With all the apartment development going on, I do think that Wilmington needs a moratorium,” said Eleanor Montano, a Wilmington resident and a member of both groups. “They’re going to pile up so many people in one spot that it’s going to be hard on the community. The schools are already overcrowded.”

Overcrowded Schools

Each of Wilmington’s seven public schools is considered overcrowded by the Los Angeles Unified School District, district officials say.

Wilmington residents have long complained that their community also suffers from a lack of other public services, including street sweeping, police protection, traffic enforcement and business district upkeep. With the population increase resulting from new apartment construction, such problems will grow worse, they have reasoned.

“The community is being besieged by apartment buildings,” said planning group member Frances Roberts, a Wilmington resident for 52 years. “Our schools are overcrowded, our streets are overcrowded; we only have two parks and they’re already full. . . . We have to move quickly on this or it isn’t going to matter because it’s going to be too late.”

“We have to look five years down the road,” said Jo Ann Wysocki, a member of the homeowners’ group. “We suffer from a lack of police protection now; I think that the new high-density development will only aggravate the problem.”

Construction Surge

Wilmington real estate dealer Vernon Vance, of Simpson-Cardona Realty Co., said he believes that the surge of apartment construction in Wilmington has resulted from a combination of permissive zoning, comparatively low land prices and the expected growth of the workforce with the expansion of the Port of Los Angeles.

“Other areas like San Pedro were down-zoned before, so developers came to Wilmington,” said Vance, who estimated that the average one-bedroom apartment rents for $475 in Wilmington’s new developments.

Vance said, however, that he believes the surge of new construction may have peaked because many developers interested in Wilmington property began processing their building applications before April 3, when a Los Angeles ordinance tightening zoning citywide took effect. That ordinance, passed after a Los Angeles Superior Court ordered the city to make its zoning consistent with its general plan, forced developers initiating new construction after April 3 to follow the zoning reflected in community plans, which is generally more restrictive than actual property zoning.

Under Study

Wilmington’s community plan, part of the Wilmington-Harbor City district plan, has been under study for 1 1/2 years. The citizens’ planning group that is working on the document will meet on Nov. 12 and on subsequent Tuesdays to complete its zoning revisions by mid-December.

Committee members say they are pleased by their progress, which may eventually help resolve some of Wilmington’s crazy-quilt zoning, but say they are worried about of the effects of the recent development craze. Indeed, some say they also support a moratorium.

“I’m not opposed to seeing development in Wilmington, but I think it should be done in a planned way,” said committee member Diane True, a Wilmington resident for 27 years. “There are developers coming in right now with projects that are too big for the neighborhoods. . . . I think a moratorium would give us some breathing space so we could get our plan implemented.”