Local News in Brief : Laguna Beach : Suit Seeks to Halt Moves on Bootleg Apartments

A class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of residents, claiming that the city is illegally requiring them to stop renting out part of their single-family homes as apartments.

The city has been sending notices to alleged violators, ordering them to remove walls that separate apartments from the main dwellings and to remove the apartments’ kitchen stoves.

Earlier this year, the City Council adopted measures requiring homeowners with nonconforming apartments in their homes to bring them into compliance with city zoning laws.

Philip Smith, attorney for the plaintiffs, said the city is not complying with the state Government Code, which allows homeowners to have “granny flats.” The granny flat statute allows residences to have additional apartments in their homes if they meet nine criteria of the law, such as conforming to height and setback requirements in the city.

In South Laguna, many such apartments are in converted garages. Others are part of a house in which a wall has been installed, isolating one or two rooms that have a separate kitchen and outside entrance.

The suit, which was filed Tuesday, names residents Harold Wilson and Donald Spencer as the plaintiffs on behalf of all other residents in South Laguna. The community was annexed to Laguna Beach on Dec. 31, 1987.

Superior Court Judge John C. Woolley set a hearing on the matter for Dec. 22. City officials said they will not prosecute violators until the suit is resolved.