Eagle Rock Residents Win Zoning Battle to Block Proposed 53-Room Motel

Residents opposing construction of a 53-room motel at the border of their quiet neighborhood in Eagle Rock won a victory last week when a Los Angeles city official ruled that the proposed motel was inconsistent with the area’s general plan.

Associate Zoning Administrator William Lillenberg denied Los Angeles-based developer Yu-Yuen Choa’s application for a conditional-use permit and a zone variance to construct the motel and an adjacent parking lot at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Highland View Avenue.

‘In Direct Conflict’

The proposed motel “would be in direct conflict with the elements and objectives of the Northeast Los Angeles Community Plan, which seeks to preserve and protect single-family residential areas from intruding high-density uses,” Lillenberg wrote in a letter to residents and the developer announcing his decision.

Choa’s attorney, Howard Hom, said this week that Choa has not decided whether to appeal the ruling.

The developer has until March 11 to file an appeal with the Los Angeles Board of Zoning Appeals.

More than 250 Eagle Rock residents signed a petition last fall opposing construction of the motel.

Well-organized residents turned out in force for two City Hall hearings.

A service station now occupies the site of the proposed motel.

It is the only business on the block, which is lined with older two-story houses, broad lawns and trees.

But the quiet neighborhood lies just north of busy Colorado Boulevard, and residents say they fear encroachment from developers.

Cynthia Place Reiners, who lives three doors from the site of the proposed motel, said she was relieved by Lillenberg’s decision, adding: “It was heartening that we could keep this off our street.”