THEY’RE HOME FREE : Couple Gets a Break, But More Planning Errors May Emerge in Lawndale

Jim and Judy Bapties broke out a bottle of champagne Friday afternoon when their contractor delivered documents from the City of Lawndale giving them final approval for their new $170,000 home.

Only 24 hours earlier, they had wondered whether they would ever get to live in the four-bedroom house they had just built.

The Bapties’ plans had been approved in July by the city’s former planning director, Nancy Owens. She resigned in October amid allegations of mismanagement and has not been available for comment.

No Hint of Problem

Until Jim Bapties went to City Hall last week to wrap up the final paper work, he had no idea there would be any problem. With earlier approvals obtained and the work completed, he thought it would be just a formality.

But Bapties, a production controller at Northrop Aviation, was told by city officials Thursday that the house at 15818 Osage Ave. is too close to the sidewalk. A 10-foot setback is required, and he provided only 5 feet.

“What am I supposed to do, tear the building down and start over, or cut the wall off?” said Bapties, a 13-year resident of Lawndale. He and his wife, a registered nurse, plan to live in the new house and rent out another house on the same site, he said.

Without the final documents from the city, his bank would not release his loan funds so he could pay off the contractor and suppliers, he said, adding that he could not afford to wait several weeks for a zoning variance. “I’m broke,” he said, pleading for immediate action by the council.

The council ended up passing an urgency ordinance Thursday night that would allow projects like his to be approved. But city officials said they fear that his problem may be just the beginning.

Because of errors in Lawndale’s Planning Department, they said, a number of residential and commercial projects have been approved even though they do not conform to the city’s building code.

Pressed by the council for an estimate of how widespread the problem may be, the city’s new planning director, James Arnold, said he could give no accurate estimate until he reviews planning records for the past year or so. “We don’t know whether 8, 80 or 800 (projects) are involved at this point,” he said.

Arnold noted that $7 million in new construction has gotten under way in Lawndale since Jan. 1 alone. Bapties listed four other residential properties in his neighborhood that he said are being built with illegal setbacks.

Scathing Critique

City Atty. David J. Aleshire, in a scathing critique of the Planning Department conducted at the request of the City Council last fall, named three commercial projects that received building permits but do not comply with city laws.

In some cases, projects were approved without the required number of parking spaces, Aleshire said.

In another case, at 17023 Hawthorne Blvd., Aleshire said a building permit was issued in error and revoked after the applicant had already received a bank loan, razed the existing building and performed some grading work to build new offices. Such a case could subject the city to litigation, he said.

In addition to permits issued in error, Aleshire found that the Planning Department provided guidelines for development that were not based on city law.

And since Aleshire’s report, more instances of Planning Department errors have surfaced, including approval of a four-unit condominium at 16313 Prairie Ave., which is one parking space short of the nine required by law. Planning Director Arnold has ordered construction stopped until the matter is resolved.

Aleshire warned that by adopting an ordinance exempting projects like the Bapties’ house from setback requirements, the city could be setting a precedent allowing unwanted development. The urgency ordinance would allow a 5-foot setback for corner lots zoned for duplexes for a 45-day period.

The measure received the four-vote majority necessary to enact an urgency ordinance, which takes effect immediately. Councilman Larry Rudolph voted against the law because he said that impacts on safety and planning should be studied carefully before adopting new regulations.

Bapties, meanwhile, has only good things to say about the city now that his problem has been resolved.

In an interview on Friday, he said it was “a shame” the city had so many problems with its Planning Department, but he thanked the council for taking action so he could complete his project. “I was in a real bind,” he said.