Limits Sought on New Whittier Apartments

A planning consultant has recommended that much of this city’s oldest residential area be rezoned to limit construction of new apartments, supporting homeowners who have complained that the area has been overrun by apartments built after the October, 1987, earthquake.

Current zoning would permit construction of about 1,000 more apartments in the area, which generally extends from Hadley Street to the city’s northern border. But the sewer and water system in parts of the area cannot support that much growth, said the consultant, Laura Hudson, director of planning services for Michael Brandman Associates.

“You need to be very careful in your recommendation” for the area, Hudson told the Planning Commission during a study session last week.

The City Council hired the consultant after discovering that in some areas zoning is not consistent with Whittier’s General Plan, the city’s blueprint for commercial and residential development.

Hudson recommended that the zoning be changed to reflect the General Plan, which calls mostly for low- and medium-density neighborhoods north of Hadley. Low-density zoning limits construction to single-family homes. Medium density permits duplexes and triplexes, and high density allows up to four apartments per lot.

“The land uses . . . in the General Plan appear to be appropriate,” Hudson said.

Historic preservationists were pleased by the recommendation but said they were worried that the Planning Commission will disagree with the consultant. “The report basically stated what the citizens had been trying to tell (the city) for a long time,” said Michael Sullens, president of the Whittier Conservancy. “We hope they accept the report.”

Developers disagreed with Hudson and asked the commission to consider granting an exemption to builders who purchased property before the zoning controversy began last summer.

Richard Villa, president of the Whittier chapter of the Southern California Builders Assn., said some property owners purchased homes on lots with high-density zoning as an investment and stand to lose money if the area is downzoned. “People need to know that the future use of their property would be limited by the zone change,” he said.

Hudson said Whittier’s sewer system is nearing capacity around Magnolia Avenue and Hadley. The city has planned several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of sewer improvements for that area in the next few years, but Hudson urged the Planning Commission to “balance development and the timing of planned capital improvements.”

The city Public Works Department tested fire hydrants north of Hadley and found four that did not meet Los Angeles County’s flow standard of 2,500 gallons per minute, Hudson said. She added that the area is laced with 4-inch water lines that were installed before the city began requiring 6-inch lines.

“The area was originally designed as a single-family area with the infrastructure geared to single-family residences,” Hudson said. “At this time, it’s a transitional area where not every portion has the level of services you would want for multifamily (apartment) development envisioned in the zoning.”

However, Hudson said streets, police, parks and schools in the area are able to support the current medium- and high-density zoning.

The Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing and a vote on the recommendation Jan. 23.