Building Moratorium Sought in Westwood

The Westwood Homeowners Assn. is seeking a one-year moratorium on the construction and demolition of residential buildings in south Westwood Village.

Association member Joyce Foster said the group represents about 3,000 families. They are asking for the moratorium until the new Westwood Community Plan is released and present density levels adjusted, she said. The area is roughly bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the north, Santa Monica Boulevard on the south, Club View Drive on the east, and the San Diego Freeway on the west.

Density levels limit the number of units that can be built on each 1,000 square feet of real estate. Association members hope that studies conducted for the new plan will result in a reduction in permissible density for the entire Westwood Village area, Foster said.

Overloaded With Traffic

Foster said the streets in the Westwood area south of Wilshire Boulevard that are now zoned R-3, R-4, and R-5 (multiresidential), are narrow, two-lane roads that are already overloaded with traffic.

Residents are plagued by motorists who use Gayley and Glendon avenues to reach Ohio Avenue, avoiding the congestion on Wilshire Boulevard, she said.

Foster said the association also wants to retain affordable rental property. New, higher-density apartment buildings would not only increase traffic, but would also charge higher rents than existing apartments, she said.

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky said he is willing to meet with association representatives and find out what their “specific objectives” are.

“It’s harder and harder to get moratoriums passed in the city,” he said. “You have got to pick and choose your fights (and ask for a moratorium) when there is a really compelling reason to do it. Between Westwood Boulevard and Veteran Avenue there is not (a compelling reason).”

Yaroslavsky said it takes about three months to get a moratorium passed. The new Westwood Community Plan is scheduled to be out in about six months.

He said three building moratoriums have already been obtained in the Westwood area. One, imposed in 1984, affects the area between UCLA and Lindbrook Avenue, and between Gayley and Tiverton avenues. Another, enacted last August, affects property east and west of UCLA. A third, imposed a few months ago, halts construction in a small, horseshoe-shaped area south of Ashton Avenue east of Beverly Glen Boulevard.