Size Cited : New Plan for Convent Rejected

A Los Angeles city zoning administrator Monday denied a proposal by a small order of Roman Catholic nuns to build a retreat house and convent on an isolated, picturesque piece of land high in the mountains near Sunland-Tujunga.

The administrator, John J. Parker, turned down the project after a two-hour public hearing in Van Nuys in which neighbors protested that the development proposed by the Sisters of Bethany would spoil the mountain’s ridgeline view and intrude upon the community’s country atmosphere.

Parker said he denied the proposal because he thought it was too large.

He said he could have required an environmental impact report, as requested by some residents and Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents the area, before making his ruling. But he said he did not believe such a report, which takes several months to complete, would have changed minds on either side or avoided an appeal to the five-member Zoning Board of Appeals.

“It didn’t seem fair to the applicant to drag this out” by requiring the report, he said.

Consultant Peter Lynch, who represents the nuns, said he will appeal Parker’s ruling. He presented Parker with petitions containing 400 signatures of residents who favor the complex.

“The sisters are very disappointed,” Lynch said. “They didn’t expect all this opposition.” He said all that the Santa Barbara-based order of nuns want is a quiet, isolated place where they can hold peaceful retreats.

Appeal Would be Sought

However, Sylvia Gross of the Sunland-Tujunga Assn. of Residents said her organization would appeal any favorable ruling on the project as now proposed.

“This seeking of serenity and peace is at the expense of 128 residents who moved there for the same reason,” she said. “We don’t want to lose the country atmosphere we moved here for.”

Residents also alleged that the complex would increase traffic, cause flooding, scar the mountains, destroy flora and fauna and attract other developments.

The proposal presented Monday had been modified slightly from plans unveiled at a hearing held in June. At that time, Parker told the two sides to try to return with a compromise.

The project calls for a 22,500-square-foot development on the 5.6 acres, down from 24,600 square feet previously proposed. The nuns want to build a one-story administration building and conference structure, a three-story building with 43 guest rooms and a one-story chapel. They’ve named the complex the Bethena Casa de Oracion (House of Prayer).

“I was really hopeful that the project would be substantially scaled down,” Parker said. “I don’t see much difference.”