50-Home Development Ordered Scaled Down

County planning commissioners have directed developers to scale back a controversial proposal to build 50 homes on a narrow mile-long strip of vacant land between Pico Rivera and Whittier.

The project, which would have included 35 2-story homes in a neighborhood of modest 1-story homes, should be revised to be more compatible with the area, the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission decided Tuesday. The development also should have fewer homes, commissioners said.

“There will have to be a drastic change in the project for me to approve it,” Commissioner Sadie B. Clark said. “I think you’re trying to do too much with that narrow lot,” she told the developers Tuesday during a public hearing.

More than 100 homeowners attended the hearing in downtown Los Angeles to protest the development. Many applauded and shouted approval when the commission decided that the plan should be revised.

Residents have contended that the development would create traffic and parking problems, add to overcrowded schools, pose a fire hazard because of inadequate access and generally reduce property values.

Developers Fred Shubin of Downey and William C. Dobrenen of Whittier wanted to build the homes on an 80-foot-wide strip, a former railroad right of way stretching from See Drive to Washington Boulevard. The strip, owned by Southern Pacific Transportation Co., is bordered by the back-yard fences of homes on Gretna and Lynalan avenues in unincorporated county territory.

Shubin said he and his partner will await their architect’s revised plans before determining whether a scaled-down development would be economically feasible.

Dobrenen said: “We’re going to continue to pursue the property and the development.” The two developers hold an option to purchase the strip from Southern Pacific, contingent on approval of the project by county officials.

Planning commissioners also ordered their staff to study whether soil at the site is contaminated. Some homeowners at the hearing said they were concerned because the railroad sprayed herbicides along the right of way to kill weeds. Jim Loveland, a railroad spokesman, said in a recent interview that the herbicide’s effect was only temporary.

Homeowners, noting that many homes in the area were damaged by the 1987 earthquake, suggested that a seismic study be conducted before any development is approved.

Action Is Only a Delay

Although opponents apparently won a temporary respite, some of them acknowledged after the hearing that the strip is likely to be developed.

Don R. Turner, one of the opposition leaders, said: “We do know that eventually someone will come in and build (back there). But we prefer someone to build something compatible with our neighborhood.”

Turner said he believes the majority of the homeowners would accept a scaled-down proposal by developers Shubin and Dobrenen.

The planning staff’s review will take at least two months, said Pamela Holt, supervisor of the Planning Department’s subdivision section.