Officials Ask Hillside Limits for High-Rises

The Los Angeles City Council moved on Tuesday to restrict construction of tall hillside buildings in Studio City as the fate of an allegedly over-height office building under construction there remained up in the air.

Council President John Ferraro asked that the city change the way it calculates the height of new buildings on hillsides next to Ventura Boulevard so that developers can no longer “take advantage of the slope.”

City building and safety commissioners, meanwhile, left unresolved the question of whether a controversial new $4.3 million office building nearing completion on that slope is three stories tall, as its building permit specifies, or is really an improper seven floors high.

Ferraro acted in response to complaints from Studio City residents who said a loophole in city laws allows builders to exceed the 45-foot height limit on lots where the slope is greater than 20 feet from the front of the lot to the back.

His motion was seconded by Councilman Michael Woo and referred to the City Council’s Planning and Environment Committee.

At a meeting of the Building and Safety Commission, Woo, who like Ferraro represents a portion of Studio City, renewed his call for the demolition of the top two floors of the Fairway Building, situated at the intersection of Fairway Avenue and Ventura Boulevard.

In a letter read to commissioners, Woo asked them to “require the removal of the two top floors” so that the hillside office building will conform “with the letter and spirit of the 45-foot height limit along Ventura Boulevard.”

Commissioners did not comment on the demolition request. But they indicated that the Planning Department’s zoning administrator--not the Building and Safety Department--has jurisdiction over the issue.

Studio City homeowners have complained that the building towers 95 feet over Ventura Boulevard, even though its building permit specifies a 45-foot--or three-story--height limit. Residents appealed to the Building and Safety Commission when they discovered the building blocked a long-established hillside neighborhood’s view of the San Fernando Valley.

On Monday, building and safety inspectors ruled that an elevator shaft on top of the office building exceeded the three-story permit and ordered an immediate halt to construction. But homeowners complained to the commission that a full work crew was at the site Tuesday morning until residents protested.

Alan J. Kheel, an attorney for developer Eitan Gonen, said workers may not have received word of the city’s stop-work order on Tuesday morning.

Ferraro’s proposal would restrict the height of development on the south side of Ventura Boulevard between Fulton Avenue and Barham Boulevard to three stories or 45 feet “as measured from the curb.”

He asked that it be approved for one year, with a possible 180-day extension, to give a citizens committee preparing a new development plan for Ventura Boulevard time to study a permanent solution to the height controversy.

“We want to eliminate that problem . . . where they take advantage of the slope and build an unusually high building which is not compatible with the community,” Ferraro said.

“The city’s present zoning code may contain unclear or conflicting language which permits building heights to be measured in varying ways, thus increasing the opportunity for misunderstanding and miscommunication,” his motion said.

“There presently exists a serious concern by residents living on hillside lots immediately overlooking Ventura Boulevard, who are impacted by current or potential development along the boulevard.”

The proposal was applauded by Polly Ward, president of the Studio City Residents Assn. She said another developer has already unveiled plans for a similar stepped hillside building at the intersection of Blue Canyon Drive and Ventura Boulevard.

“These two buildings have demonstrated the need to clarify the code,” Ward said. “If it’s not clarified or changed, the whole Studio City strip could become high-rise.”