Builders React to Moratorium Talk With ‘Land Rush’

A deluge of requests for building permits flooded City Hall this week after the Planning Commission, in a little-publicized action that was opposed by the city administration, voted 4 to 1 on Nov. 20 to recommend a moratorium on multi-unit residential development.

The influx brings already record development in Hawthorne to a new high, giving the city its first year with more than $100 million in construction permits.

“It sounds to me like the Planning Commission created a panic with their recommendations,” said Councilman Chuck Bookhammer.

“A land rush,” commented Councilman Steve Andersen.

“Monday was a mess,” said Maxine Groseth, the city employee who processes permits and files the rolled-up blueprints that accompany permit applications. “You ever stack cordwood? That is what we did.”

Took No Chances

Developers took no chances that the City Council might approve a moratorium--despite the fact that the Planning Commission recommendation was not on the council agenda for the Monday evening meeting.

Monday was the heaviest single day for building permits since the day before a moratorium took effect in the early 1970s, Groseth said. Developers took out permits Monday for 309 residential units valued at construction costs of $14.4 million. She did not know the previous single-day record.

Permit totals for 1985 through Tuesday were 1,636 residential units with construction costs estimated at $103.4 million. Between the Planning Commission vote and Tuesday, $52,000 in city permit fees were collected. In 1984, permits for 580 units were issued with costs of $44.7 million.

Planning officials’ reaction to the record permit activity was mixed.

“Oh, my God! That is enough to make you sick. Isn’t that awful?” said Planning Commission Chairwoman Barbara Workman, who voted for the moratorium recommendation.

But Planning Director Jim Marquez, who opposed the moratorium in Planning Commission discussions, said he was pleased about the record figures: “I like to hear that. You want your city to grow.”

Took Out Permit

Marquez himself took out a permit on Monday for a 15-unit apartment. City Manager Kenneth Jue said it is “not necessarily” a conflict of interest for the city’s planning director to also be a developer in the city. Jue questions the need for a moratorium.

Bookhammer, another opponent of a moratorium, warned that the sudden burst of permit activity might trigger a backlash.

“If the builders don’t read between the lines and they continue to put in these plans, they may just force us into a moratorium,” he said.

Torrance developer Siraj Hassanally took the lead in permits filed through Monday after the Planning Commission decision.

On Friday and Monday, Hassanally took out permits for three buildings in the Moneta Gardens area with a total of 83 units and construction costs of $4 million. He said he had already been planning these apartment buildings, his first in Hawthorne, when he heard from his architect that Hawthorne officials were considering a moratorium.

“I rushed to get it in,” he said. “The timing, of course, was because of the rumor that there would be a moratorium.”

Some Did Not Know

But some who filed for a permit on Monday said they did not know of the Planning Commission recommendation.

“I was unaware of anything like that,” said developer Rein O. Kuhr.

Still, Kuhr did notice unusual activity as he took out a permit for a 49-unit apartment building in the 14100 block of Lemoli Avenue in the Moneta Gardens area.

“I was wondering. There were quite a few people around the building department,” he said.

Kuhr said he is opposed to a moratorium. “I don’t see where the City Council would have any business unilaterally coming in with a moratorium in the first place. . . . You don’t let a bunch of people build and then all of a sudden say, ‘This is too much.’ ”

The Planning Commission voted for the moratorium recommendation at a Nov. 20. meeting that lasted past midnight, prolonged partly by complaints from a number of residents of Roselle Avenue who expressed concerned that high-density development could drive away people living in single-family homes.

Planning Commissioner Dr. William Lee, a chiropractor and developer, made the motion that the commission recommend City Council approval of a moratorium on multi-unit residential building. Lee is a member of Planning Commission committees that are studying land use citywide and residential land use in the Moneta Gardens area--subjects that are given high priority by a City Council that for months has faced residents irate about development in their neighborhoods.

Explain Why Needed

Commissioner Frederick Morgan, who eventually voted against the recommendation, challenged Lee to explain why a moratorium was needed.

“Now is the time. . . . We have had the people here today, tonight,” Lee said. “We are doing a Moneta Gardens study on land use. We are doing a residential land use study. We are doing a water flow and sewer study. What more do we need to tell you we need something done temporarily ?”

Marquez countered by saying that a moratorium would scare away developers:

“I’m talking about the stigma that is created when the city tries to hold up its hands and says all of a sudden, ‘You stop all your interest in our community right now.’ That is exactly what you are doing to this community, Commissioner Lee.

“There is no question (development) is creating an impact and there is no question that it is creating thousands of jobs. Millions of dollars are being cycled through banks and investment companies. It is good for the community to be experiencing this type of difficulty.”

New Restrictions

Marquez said community concerns expressed during the planning process might lead to new restrictions on building design in order to soften the impact of multi-unit construction in neighborhoods with single-family homes. The process could take up to six months, he said.

“But (if) you counter that with shoving away hundreds of people who want to develop in this town, you will suffer financially,” he said.

Lee disagreed with Marquez, referring to the earlier moratorium. “I would agree with you if we hadn’t had previous experience,” he said. “We had a moratorium just before we had the (Hawthorne) Mall and it didn’t bother it one iota.”

Marquez replied: “That was one project.”

Marquez’s plans for development of his own property did not come up at the meeting, but Lee said he did know about them. “In his position, if he is going to build, I think he should do it out of town,” Lee said.

City Manager Jue said Marquez was “not necessarily” involved in a conflict of interest by developing property in Hawthorne.

“It was on a piece of property inherited by his wife. What was there before there was a three- or four- unit apartment. It wasn’t very attractive. They tore it down,” he said.

Not on Agenda

Jue included the Planning Commission recommendation in an informational packet that was sent to council members, but did not put it on the agenda.

“I wasn’t really prepared to talk. I myself am not convinced that we need a moratorium,” he said. But he said that his reservations about a moratorium were not the reason he left it off the agenda.

The Planning Commission recommendation was never directly discussed at the council meeting, despite the central role that problems of intensive development have played for months in City Council meetings.

“The only rational answer I have to that,” said Andersen, is that “the council thought it was dealing with this” when the it directed the Planning Commission to conduct land use and density studies three weeks ago.

The only time a council member mentioned a moratorium was when Andersen asked City Atty. Michael Adamson to explain the legal requirements for the council to approve a moratorium.

Developers Present

Several developers who seemed to know about the Planning Commission recommendation were present at the council meeting.

“How did the word get out? I have no idea. Don’t ask me?” said Planning Commission Chairwoman Workman. She recalled that no one was in the audience when, after midnight, the commission voted for the moratorium recommendation.

Developer Bob Marsella, said he sat through almost all of the four-hour Planning Commission meeting, but left at midnight, before the moratorium discussion began.

“Who told me about that? It was just a rumor. No official contact,” Marsella said. “I can’t pinpoint a person who told me that, a construction worker. I called the city up and said, ‘What is happening?’ ”

He took out a permit for a 25-unit building on Monday and his associate Peter Pozzoli got a permit for a 15-unit apartment. Other developers telephoned and dropped by to get the scoop.