Long Beach : Douglas, Residents Settle

Douglas Aircraft Co. has settled a lawsuit filed by Lakewood Country Club homeowners in June in an attempt to block construction of a 77-foot-high industrial building across the street from their luxury homes.

The suit, filed after the City Council approved construction of the building, was withdrawn recently after Douglas agreed to provide extensive landscaping or alter homes and walls if necessary to block the building from the view of homeowners.

Twenty-six homes on Lakewood Drive and Ann Arbor and Annapolis roads are covered by the settlement, homeowner attorney Charles Greenberg said.

“This is a very extensive and expensive effort,” Greenberg said. Neither he nor Douglas estimated its cost.

“Douglas was not willing to do anything that might be construed as going beyond an effort to mitigate the visual impact of the building. . . . like paying money,” Greenberg said.

A second key provision of the settlement, he said, is the company’s agreement not to oppose a request by homeowners to change zoning on Douglas property along Carson Street. The zoning change would prohibit construction of any more buildings taller that 45 feet, the height of existing buildings.

Douglas also agreed to take steps to reduce vehicle traffic and industrial noise along Carson. It will provide a hot line for homeowner complaints, Greenberg said.

Douglas has argued that construction of the 77-foot-tall building is necessary if the company is to build the C-17 military transport at its main plant here. The contract will create 10,000 local jobs, the company says.