Commission Rejects Curbs on Hillside Construction

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission, sharply divided over how best to restrict hillside development on the Westside, rejected three separate proposals Thursday that would have temporarily limited construction of single-family homes in the hills between the San Diego Freeway in Brentwood and Outpost Drive in Hollywood.

The commission, which will take up the issue again next month, disregarded requests from Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky and an aide to Councilman Michael Woo, both of whom asked the panel to reject two of the three proposals. Yaroslavsky and Woo, who represent the hillside areas, supported the third proposal, a hybrid of the other two.

All three proposals would have created temporary yearlong ordinances, which, to varying degrees, would have made it more difficult to build in canyon areas south of Mulholland Drive where some roads and lots are considered to be below city standards.

Narrow Streets

Two of the proposed ordinances were drafted by the Planning Department after Woo and Yaroslavsky introduced motions calling for temporary controls on hillside building while the city devises permanent guidelines. The two councilmen said large homes being built on small lots on narrow and sometimes unpaved streets were creating safety problems, particularly since some of the roads are inaccessible to fire engines.

Yaroslavksy said Thursday, however, that planning officials got carried away when drafting the two proposed ordinances and strayed too far from the intent of the councilmen’s motions. For example, the ordinances included limits on remodeling of existing homes that neither councilman supported, he said.

“It is very rare that I come to the commission critical of the Planning Department staff,” Yaroslavsky said. “But I think in this case, they really bungled it.”

The third proposed ordinance, crafted by Commissioner William R. Christopher and presented for the first time at Thursday’s meeting, had the narrowest focus of the three. It would have delayed building permits for homes proposed on substandard streets--defined as those narrower than 20 feet--so the city could impose conditions that would address safety concerns.

The commissioners were unanimous in their decision to discard the Planning Department’s ordinances, but they were divided on Christopher’s proposal. Christopher and Commissioner Carmen Estrada, saying it was important to get some controls in place, supported the proposal, while Commissioners William G. Luddy, Theodore Stein Jr. and Suzette Neiman voted against it.

“There is such a thing as gutless government, and I think this commission will continue to perpetuate that if we don’t take some strong steps to solve what are clearly identified problems,” Estrada said.

But Luddy said Christopher’s proposal lacked specifics and was still “overly broad”--it included, for example, minimum front-yard setbacks--and Stein said he opposed any restrictions before the city completes a study now under way of substandard hillside streets. Neiman did not explain her vote.

Fourth Ordinance

Unable to come up with a version acceptable to at least three of them, the commissioners voted to take up the issue again Jan. 5. In the meantime, they instructed the Planning Department to draft a fourth ordinance based on Christopher’s proposal that also addresses concerns raised by Luddy and others. The commissioners will use that ordinance as the basis of their discussion in January.

About 175 people, most of whom opposed the proposed ordinances, attended the hearing Thursday. The proposed restrictions have created bitter divisions in several hillside communities, where some property owners and builders see them as an infringement on their property rights. Supporters of the restrictions, on the other hand, say the long-neglected roads will only get worse if developers of new projects are not required to make improvements.

Any ordinance approved by the Planning Commission would be forwarded to the City Council’s Planning and Environment Committee, then to the full council and finally to Mayor Tom Bradley.