Invasion of Apartments Raises Hackles in Whittier : ‘Nobody Was Minding the Store,’ Residents Say

A drive through the neighborhoods around central Whittier tells the story.

Streets that were once lined with graceful turn-of-the-century homes and 1930s bungalows are giving way to rows of square apartment buildings. Homeowners, many of whom have lived in the city’s oldest residential areas for decades, have grown annoyed as their streets became more congested, parking became harder to find and water pressure slowly weakened.

But after the Oct. 1 earthquake, their annoyance turned to anger.

Developers, taking advantage of zoning that permits apartment buildings in much of central Whittier, began buying up land from property owners whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. Since October, building permits were issued for 32 apartment units in eight structures north of Hadley Road, and in the same four-square mile area plans were filed to construct 123 more dwelling units in 20 buildings.

Scores of residents who had never before been involved in city affairs started attending City Council meetings, demanding a stop to the construction. The earthquake prompted many to start questioning why their neighborhoods were zoned for high-density, and why city officials seemed to ignore their problems while lavishing attention on the Uptown Village business district.

A Spokeswoman Emerges

“Nobody was minding the store” when it came to residential areas, said Helen McKenna-Rahder, who has emerged as a spokeswoman for the homeowners. “You don’t see them allowing Taco Bells to be built in the village. Why do we have to put up with all these apartments in our neighborhoods?”

But it was only after irate homeowners crammed the City Council chambers for several consecutive meetings that the council temporarily restricted apartment construction while considering rezoning the whole area.

It is easy to see why homeowners are up in arms, McKenna-Rahder said, when one compares the city’s plans for the business district to what has been done for residential areas.

For months, the city has been working to redesign the earthquake-ravaged Uptown Village, where unreinforced masonry buildings tumbled into the streets after the 5.9 temblor and its aftershocks.

Redevelopment of the village, which had been proceeding slowly, suddenly became synonymous with the city’s ability to rebound after the earthquake. The city arranged for trailers to serve as temporary homes for displaced businesses. A new redevelopment district was formed. More than $360,000 in donations to earthquake victims were distributed solely to merchants.

Last month, an elaborate plan for the village was unveiled, showing how the 18-block area that was Whittier’s original central business district could become a financial and aesthetic success.

“We wanted to reconstruct and protect the village as much as possible,” City Councilman Gene H. Chandler said. “That was our top priority.”

Residential Areas Take Longer

Have residential areas been neglected in the post-earthquake rebuilding effort?

“Probably,” Chandler said. “But I think the residential areas take more time to evaluate where they’ve been and where they’re going.”

Chandler noted that the city waived earthquake repair permit fees for all residents, provided free debris pick-up and lobbied lawmakers for federal and state earthquake assistance.

That is not enough, McKenna-Rahder said. She charges that the city has acted irresponsibly, if not illegally, in not looking after residential planning.

McKenna-Rahder spent weeks poring over thick three-ring binders filled with copies of state planning and zoning laws, and she concluded that the city has violated a state planning law that requires the city’s General Plan, its blueprint for development, to be revised in the wake of a natural disaster.

The law says in part: “When new information becomes available indicating that a previously excluded issue is now relevant, the General Plan must be revised to address the issue. The discovery of a previously unknown earthquake fault is an example.”

But Whittier Planning Director Elvin Porter said the previously undiscovered fault that caused the 5.9 earthquake in October is in the Whittier Narrows area--outside the city limits--and so the law does not apply.

“All the faults in the city, as known, are shown in the General Plan,” Porter said.

McKenna-Rahder also pointed out a state law that requires cities to evaluate housing stock at least every five years to see if the zoning is still appropriate to the area. Porter said that such evaluation is an ongoing process, but the zoning for some areas north of Hadley Street has not been revised since the 1940s. He said the department does not produce written reports on the condition of the housing stock.

“We don’t have enough staff to have that particular phase going on . . . ,” he said.

Porter conceded that the city’s General Plan and zoning regulations need an overhaul, and said the planning staff had been discussing such a revamping for several months before the homeowners began their protests.

Asked if the city had acted responsibly, Porter said, “Sure, and probably a lot faster than a lot of other cities would have.”

The R-4 zoning high-density classification, which appears in residential areas throughout Whittier, allows the construction of up to four apartments per average-sized lot. If a developer is able to acquire consecutive lots, the density can be higher. For instance, 11 apartments can be built on two adjacent lots.

Because the existing zoning allows high-density development, state law does not require the city to conduct an environmental impact study of the effects an apartment building might have on an already crowded street. Such a study might include an analysis of traffic flow, parking, water pressure and the impact on school districts.

Not City Staff’s Role

It is not the role of city staff to check these things because “that’s assumed to have been taken in account when the General Plan was established,” said Michael W. Burnham, senior planner.

When a developer seeks a building permit for apartments, city staff generally checks to see that the zoning is appropriate and then issues the permit, Burnham said.

McKenna-Rahder said that is precisely the problem. “There’s no thought behind this kind of development,” she said.

For instance, conflicts occur when the General Plan says a certain area should be medium-density when the zoning is high-density. Porter estimated such conflicts occur in 5% to 7% of the city.

However, the City Council recently imposed a process that temporarily changes the rules for apartment developers. Those who have not been issued building permits must now obtain a conditional-use permit by having their plans approved by both the Planning Commission and the City Council after public hearings. City planning staff will prepare an environmental impact study on each project as part of that process. The rule change is in effect until July 19, when the City Council will decide whether to extend it.

Consultant Sought

Meanwhile, the city is advertising for a consultant to revamp the General Plan and zoning citywide. Chandler anticipated that the City Council will extend the conditional-use permit requirement north of Hadley Street until the rezoning study is finished. City officials estimate that will take at least three months.

McKenna-Rahder said she may sue the city if the zoning and General Plan are not revised to protect homeowners and the city’s historical neighborhoods.

State law says that, “with regard to the General Plan itself, any aggrieved party . . . may sue to enforce the requirements for the adoption of an adequate general plan. The same is true for zoning consistency with the General Plan and for subdivisions.”

Porter said it has only been in the past few years that the courts have ruled that zoning must be consistent with the General Plan.

Dorland Street Example

McKenna-Rahder hopes the City Council and Planning Commission will limit apartment construction until the rezoning study is completed. But then she remembers what happened on Dorland Street.

Residents of Dorland Street, faced with the possibility of 31 more apartment units on two blocks of a street that already is 48% apartments, pleaded with the city to change the zoning so that no more than two apartments could be built on each lot instead of four.

Despite a recommendation from city planning staff to downgrade the zone, the City Council refused, saying developers were entitled to proceed with their projects.

“The conditional-use permit process is better than nothing,” McKenna-Rahder said, “but it’s no guarantee.”