Flores Offers Interim Law to Protect Homes in San Pedro

Going beyond the scope of what her citizens advisory committee recommended, Los Angeles Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores Wednesday proposed a measure that could severely restrict developers from razing houses to make way for apartments in San Pedro.

Flores’ proposed interim control ordinance--a temporary law that must be adopted by both the Los Angeles Planning Commission and City Council after a public hearing--would prohibit developers from replacing single-family homes with apartments on blocks where single-family homes compose at least half the existing housing stock on both sides of the street.

It is unknown how many blocks this would affect.

The plan is intended to preserve neighborhoods that are single-family in character, and allow apartment development where the single-family flavor is “already gone,” said Flores aide Mario Juravich.

The proposal comes at a time when apartment development is the major issue in San Pedro. Last week, after several sessions of heated debate, a 25-member advisory committee studying the issue proposed its own restrictions, which were primarily aimed at discouraging developers from stringing together lots to build large apartment complexes.

Protection for Neighborhoods

But Flores, who included the committee’s recommendations in her proposal, said she felt the committee did not go far enough.

“It really needed to go a little further so that neighborhoods that are now primarily single-family would be protected,” Flores said Wednesday.

Flores’ proposal, which would take effect July 1, was lauded by one of San Pedro’s most vocal slow-growth advocates, Shanaz Ardehali-Kordich, who as a member of the citizens advisory committee had severely criticized that panel’s recommendations.

“I’m really impressed that she goes farther than the committee did,” said Ardehali-Kordich, although she added that she would like to see duplexes get the same protection as single-family homes. “I think she must have taken to heart the fact that people really don’t want the town to be overdeveloped.”

William Lusby, vice chairman of the San Pedro Community Plan Advisory Committee and the author of its recommendations, said it is too soon to tell whether Flores’ proposal would have any real effect on development.

Spoken Against Moratorium

“If we don’t have very many blocks with 50% multiple dwellings on them, it could be almost like a moratorium on building,” said Lusby, who has spoken out against a moratorium. “If we have quite a few blocks that have 50% or more multiple dwellings on them . . . well, that means you can go ahead and develop those blocks, which makes sense.”

The committee’s recommendations did not address the razing of single-family houses on lots smaller than 6,000 square feet. Most lots in San Pedro fall into this category.

Flores’ plan would apply to such lots.

For streets that are predominantly single-family, the councilwoman’s plan is two-fold: It would temporarily ban replacing houses with apartments. But it would permit the demolition of residential structures as long as they are replaced with no more than the number of units torn down. If the number of units lost is more than the zoning allows on a lot, the developer would have to follow the zoning.

For streets where apartment buildings make up the majority of the housing stock, Flores’ recommendations are the same, for the most part, as existing zoning. Her plan would allow a maximum of three apartment units on lots that are smaller than 6,000 square feet.

Same as Committee’s

“I think I improved on what they did,” Flores said. “I don’t see this as going against what the committee did. I see this as enhancing it.”

In fact, on lots 6,000 square feet or larger, Flores’ recommendations are the same as those of the committee.

The committee’s recommendations, as drafted by Lusby, an architect, targeted lots zoned for multiple-family developments, particularly those designated RD1.5, which permits an apartment unit for every 1,500 square feet. The recommendations, which are also in Flores’ proposed ordinance, would provide that:

* On lots 6,000 square feet or larger, apartment developers may build only one unit for every 2,000 square feet.

* No single building may contain more than four apartment units, although more than one building may be permitted on a lot if the lot is large enough.

* When two or more lots zoned differently are tied together into one lot, the more restrictive zoning shall apply.

* Alleys may not be included in the size of a lot.