Ferraro Backs Effort to Block Apartments

City Councilman John Ferraro sided with residents Monday in a dispute with a developer by promising to try to stop construction of six apartment buildings in a quiet North Hollywood neighborhood.

At issue is whether the city Planning Department erroneously issued an exemption to the area’s general plan allowing construction of the six buildings along the 4100 and 4200 blocks of Tujunga Avenue in a neighborhood of mostly single-family homes.

The Los Angeles Planning Commission is scheduled to decide the matter Thursday.

Construction has begun on two of the six buildings. But building permits for the two may be declared void if the commission and, in turn, the City Council decide an improper zoning exemption was allowed.

After a Planning Department request, the Building and Safety Department Friday ordered the developer to stop construction until the dispute is settled.

‘Interpreting’ the Order

But developer Ami Dabach, owner of Encino-based Condor Wescorp, did not stop work last weekend. He said his attorney was “interpreting” the order.

This led to a fistfight Saturday between an angry homeowner, who was trying to take photographs to document what he believed was illegal construction work, and one of the construction workers.

The homeowner, Mark Honig, said a worker threw a dirt clod or rock at him and chased and tackled him. The worker then “punched on my face,” he said. No one was arrested in the incident, but Honig said he has filed a report with police.

Work continued at a site at 4222 Tujunga Ave. on Monday morning, prompting about 30 residents to stage a protest. That is where Ferraro stepped in, announcing to the homeowners: “I’m going to try and stop this construction. It’s too dense. It does not comply with the community plan.”

Ferraro told the group that because of the stop-work order, the developer was “not right to be building here.” Ferraro accused Dabach and his company of trying to hurry to “get concrete poured so that they will be vested.”

A planning official said the City Council can change the zoning of a property until a developer is vested--able to claim a financial hardship because a substantial amount of work, usually the laying of a foundation, has been done on the project.

Dabach, building a 16-unit, two-story apartment complex on the site, denied he has attempted to rush the work so that the project can be vested.

Henry Amitai, a Condor Wescorp representative, called the weekend work “excavation for safety reasons.” He said it was necessary to pump out mud and water after Friday night’s rain.

On Monday, however, it was clear that workers were assembling wooden forms and installing reinforcing steel, usually preparatory work for pouring a concrete foundation.

Developer’s Risk

A building official said work conducted after a stop order is “at the developer’s own risk.” Such work cannot be considered part of the developer’s investment, the official said.

When Dabach appeared at the protest, homeowners angrily shook their fists and shouted at him.

“You have no respect for anyone around here,” said Charles Mannara, who lives a block away from the project site. “You just want to come in here and make money.”

The dispute is rooted in inconsistencies in zoning and the city’s general plan for the Tujunga Avenue area. The land is zoned for apartment buildings up to three stories high. But the general plan indicates that only single-family homes are allowed in the area.

While the city works out these inconsistencies, the six projects were granted the exemptions.

Ferraro and the city attorney’s office believe the Planning Department may have misinterpreted the guidelines that govern the granting of exemptions to the general plan. They requested that the Planning Commission take up the issue.

Ferraro said he may this week propose a building moratorium in the neighborhood to prevent further apartment construction.

He already has pushed through a council committee a tough ordinance that would limit building heights in the area, increase parking spaces per unit and require developers to make street improvements.