Lawndale to Seek State OK to Issue Building Permits

Drawing protests from two council members and applause from developers and homeowners, the Lawndale City Council voted to seek state approval of an interim process that would allow the city to issue permits for new development projects.

City officials stopped issuing building permits Nov. 8 after voters overwhelmingly rejected three ballot measures intended to straighten out a controversy over the city’s General Plan, which governs all zoning and development.

The effect of the vote was to invalidate the city’s 1976 General Plan and to prohibit the council from enacting a new one without voter approval. State law requires cities to have an up-to-date general plan before building permits can be issued.

The council voted 3 to 2 Thursday to apply to the state Office of Planning and Research for an interim process that would allow the city to issue permits while it works to approve a new general plan.

The vote was greeted with cheers and applause from nearly 100 homeowners and developers who crowded into the council chambers.

The application process requires the council to submit to the state a set of interim building standards that the city must adhere to until a new general plan is approved.

The four council members and Mayor Sarann Kruse all agreed to include the city’s current building standards plus a new set of strict parking standards for the state’s consideration.

However, Kruse and Councilwoman Carol Norman strongly objected to including in the application a new set of standards designed to encourage the building of condominiums to replace the city’s aging apartment stock. They both argued that the council could not vote on the standards because the city clerk’s office erroneously advertised in a local newspaper that discussion of the matter would take place at a later meeting.

Kruse insisted that the condominium standards would “significantly impact the city” and said an accurately publicized hearing was needed to approve the standards.

“This is sleazy and I won’t have any part of it,” Norman said after the vote.

City Atty. David Aleshire said it is legal for the council to include the standards in the state application because the standards have not been adopted into law.

“It’s just a recommendation to OPR (Office of Planning and Research),” he said.

Councilman Larry Rudolph, who submitted the proposal covering all multifamily residential zones, said the condominium standards should be included in the state application because they will spur renewal of the city’s dilapidated apartments.

The proposed standards would eliminate the required minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet for condominiums. Instead, the minimum lot size for apartments would apply, giving builders the option of putting condominiums on lots where the only alternative had been apartments or single-family dwellings.

About a dozen homeowners and developers said they supported Rudolph’s proposed standards because they would increase the number of homeowners in the city.

“We’ve got too many renters and not enough homeowners,” said Jonathan Stein, a developer who sent out more than 2,000 mailers encouraging people to attend the meeting. “The fabric of our neighborhood is decaying.”

Three city activists said they opposed including the standards in the state application because they said the meeting was not properly advertised and because many people had not received enough information about the standards.

“People don’t know enough about the ordinance,” said Steve Mino. “I don’t know enough about the ordinance.”

In other action, the council voted 4 to 1 to extend for 10 months an existing moratorium on apartment construction. The moratorium, which began Oct. 5, is intended to give the city time to write building standards that would increase parking and open space requirements.