Dispute Lifts Civic League Out of Obscurity

Judith Freed didn’t spend much time thinking about the Pacific Palisades Civic League during the first 10 years she lived in her hillside house above Sunset Boulevard. Neither did Gary Nash, who lived down the street. Nor did Lenard Pick, who said that for months after he moved next door to Nash during the summer of 1985, “I didn’t even know what the Civic League was.”

The three had much in common with the scores of other property owners in Tract 9300, which consists of 4,000 lots that cover most of the Palisades.

Only about 100 of those owners paid the $15 annual membership dues this year. There’s no telling if others have scrutinized the fine print in their deeds that explains the league’s potential to affect their lives: It has the power to regulate the appearance and design of every building in the tract.

But these days, Freed, Nash, Pick and many of their neighbors, seeking to reduce the scale of a nearby condominium, have made the league a topic of conversation and a target of protest, dragging the organization out of obscurity and into Santa Monica Superior Court.

In recent weeks, the league’s unwillingness to take on legal battles against builders who don’t follow its rules, its domination by real estate agents and architects and its low profile all have been criticized by homeowner’s groups around the Palisades.

Members of the league’s board counter that they have accomplished much with quiet, behind-the-scenes negotiations. They acknowledge that the organization has shortcomings, but blame them on the community, which has failed to provide support in the form of money and donated time.

Huge Impact

There is agreement only on this: The league has not used all the power that it has, and no one is just sure how much power that is. Finding out how much there is could have a huge impact on the future shape of the Palisades, where residents boast that their cliffside community has maintained a distinct village atmosphere even though it is part of the sprawling city of Los Angeles.

The deeds in tract 9300 forbid owners to build or remodel structures on their lots without the league’s written approval “as to outward appearance and design.”

The league’s role has not been more clearly spelled out in the 43 years since its creation. The private group meets once a month at the local library to review building applications but has never established development guidelines. There is no office; there is no staff.

Though every owner in the tract is eligible to join and vote for the 12-member governing board, they are not required to do so. The board mails brochures every few years, when its budget allows, to alert property owners to its existence. But “I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people throw those out without ever reading them,” league President Doug Uhler said.

As a tool for ensuring that the Palisades’ identity endures, “the Civic League is a sleeping giant,” said Ronald Dean, president of the Pacific Palisades Residents Assn., a homeowners group representing about 1,700 families.

“These people want us to have powers that we want to have, too,” said Heinz Meier, a member of the league’s governing board and chairman of the committee that screens all submitted designs. “But it’s foolish if you don’t have them to assume that you do. It’s very unpopular to admit what you may not have.”

Such questions were raised when controversyerupted over a 71-foot-high, 18-unit condominium project under construction on the north side of Sunset Boulevard near Muskingum Avenue. The neighbors on the ridge above contend that the building will block their ocean views and invade their privacy when the dwellings are complete and occupied.

About a month ago, they say, they became aware of the deed restrictions that grant the Civic League the right to decide whether to permit certain designs to be built. The league had approved preliminary plans for the condo.

The neighbors say they had no grounds to contest the approval. But then the condo developer, Alex Furlotti, erected a wooden frame that left no doubt that the building would be three feet higher than shown on his plans--enough, the neighbors say, to blot out the last sliver of ocean blue visible from their back windows and patios.

The neighbors became upset when the league did not take steps to force Furlotti to build only what was authorized. They also said they were angry that Uhler was helping the developer by asking nearby residents whether Furlotti could rent space in their yards to store lumber.

The neighbors have not sued the league. Instead, they formed the Mid-Sunset Residents Assn., elected Nash their president and successfully pressured the league to lend its name to their cause in court.

On Oct. 20, Superior Court Judge David M. Rothman will hear the joint request for a preliminary injunction to block further construction.

Meanwhile, Furlotti has continued work on the condo because, he said, the league’s mandate to supervise “outward appearance and design” does not include the right to oversee a building’s height.

The case is forcing the league to define for the first time the scope of its authority--a move that the group has shied away from in the past, critics charge.

Formed in 1943

The Civic League was established in 1943, as successor to the Palisades Assn., a realty company formed in 1920 by the community’s Methodist founders. The league took on the disbanding association’s responsibility to oversee “outward appearance and design.”

“The Civic League has a unique clout. That’s why I get so angry when it isn’t used,” said John Dalessio, an attorney and former league board member. “Don’t play like you have the authority if you don’t. And if you do, don’t let the worst abusers go because you’re afraid to test your authority.”

Dalessio left the board after serving less than a year to run for Congress in 1974. He refused to rejoin when asked in 1982 because he was disappointed in the league’s reluctance to move against the owner of a controversial bluff-top house. Another board member, Richard Weisman, quit over the same matter. “This was a blatant case. I was rather disgusted,” Weisman said.

The city was also slow to take action against the owner, who neighbors alleged was violating municipal building and safety codes. “That’s why having something besides the city government to turn to could have been useful,” Dalessio said.

Specific Plan

However, the city did create a specific plan for the Palisades’ commercial streets, establishing a design review board earlier this year. “We did it because the city shouldn’t have been leaving this to someone else,” said Cindy Miscikowski, aide to 11th District Councilman Marvin Braude. “And there were perceptions that the league wasn’t strong enough, it didn’t go far enough, the rules weren’t clear enough.”

Under the deed restrictions, the Civic League has “reversionary rights”: the power to take property from those who refuse to bow to the league’s authority. Uhler said the league has never seized anyone’s property.

Uhler said the league has been to court twice in the eight years he has served on the board. Both cases were settled out of court and resulted in cash payments to the league. In one, a house that had been standing incomplete for years was finished; in the other, a building was not changed because the owner’s title company had left the restrictions off his deed. The title company agreed to notify other firms to make sure the league’s authority is included in all new titles issued.

The league has not pursued every possible case, Uhler said, because it simply does not have the money or the time. “This is a volunteer organization,” he said. “We don’t have a staff.”

Some detractors point instead to the makeup of the governing board, noting that many of its members depend on growth and change to earn their livelihoods. Currently, Uhler said, the board consists of one business consultant, two real estate brokers, two lawyers, one accountant, two engineers, two architects, one building designer and one landscape designer.

Long Tradition

The league has a longstanding tradition of board members recruiting new members from among their acquaintances. “It’s difficult to get people to serve on the board,” said Uhler, a real estate broker who was asked to join by a colleague. He agreed, he said, partly “because when you live and work in a community, you give back,” and partly “to make contacts.”

He does not think the professions represented on the board are necessarily a disadvantage.

“It’s good to have real estate people on the board,” Uhler said. “They have a vested interest in the good of the community, because they sell in it. They also provide excellent eyes. They’re seeing houses all the time. We have no official notification (from the city) of new building or remodeling, so real estate people are our monitors.” Architects and lawyers provide needed expertise, he added.

But it was Uhler’s desire to improve his real estate business that sparked additional controversy in the Furlotti case. After the original approval, Uhler said, he agreed to help the developer seek storage space for construction materials because “it was an excuse to call people. That’s an area where I sell.” Furlotti and Uhler both said no pay was involved.

The approved condo plans were changed to add gables which made the roofs higher, Furlotti said, “because I did not want to build a box.” The $3-million condo is his first development, he said, “and I wanted it to be attractive.”

The neighbors, however, were outraged, especially when they discovered that Uhler heads the Civic League. After several weeks of negotiations, the league’s screening committee recommended that Furlotti be asked to add trees and change the color of his condo. Said the neighbors’ attorney, Donald C. Randolph: “That’s like being in court and the foreman of the jury says, ‘Your Honor, we find the defendant guilty and we issue a life sentence to the victim.’ ”

Lengthy Meeting

But two weeks ago, about 100 Palisades residents jammed a league meeting that lasted for 5 1/2 hours, alternately cheering and hissing the speakers. At 1 a.m., the governing board voted 5 to 2 to officially notify Furlotti that he should bring in plans that show a lower roof. Uhler abstained, as did another board member whose accounting firm does work for Furlotti.

Last week, in a closed session, the board voted 6 to 2 to join the neighbors in their suit against the developer. The neighbors agreed to finance the suit.

“I don’t know if this is the right test case,” said Uhler, who was present but again did not vote. “But if this can get us more active members, not just single-issue members, who will support us and help us financially, this can be very good.”