Arcadia Delays Decision on Home Sizes

A decision on whether Arcadia will further restrict the size of new homes has been postponed until February.

After hearing from builders who objected to proposed zoning amendments, the City Council on Tuesday decided to study alternatives.

But Councilman Charles Gilb said he would wait no later than the Feb. 6 meeting to take some action. The council continued its hearing until then.

“These castle-type homes that are being built in town with turrets and all that junk--it’s the people next door we hear from quite regularly,” he said. “How do we stop these renegades from coming in and massacring these lots?”

In March, 1988, the council approved changes that limit the height of homes to a maximum of 25 to 35 feet, depending on the size of the lot, and establish wider setbacks for front and side yards.

The renewed effort to cut down the size of new homes came after the city received a proposal this fall to build a 12,000-square-foot home on a 16,600-square-foot lot. “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said City Planner Donna Butler, adding that the city has constantly been fielding complaints from residents about the size of new homes.

The 55 proposed new single-family homes being reviewed by the city average 5,261 square feet each. That’s 635 square feet larger than last year’s average, said Planning Director William Woolard.

Arcadia’s existing 45% lot coverage limitation was adopted when most of the new homes were single-story and the two-story homes were much smaller, he said. The changes proposed by the Planning Department would reduce the maximum lot coverage allowed to between 20% and 35%, depending on the size of the property.

Arcadia has the most liberal requirements concerning lot coverage of 13 cities included in a city survey. If the Planning Department’s proposals are adopted, the regulations would be comparable to San Marino’s, which has the most stringent laws of the cities surveyed. San Marino allows a home to cover only 22% to 30% of a lot.

Butler said more than half of the applications being processed would comply with the proposed regulations, which the Planning Commission approved Nov. 28.

George Maddock, president of Arcadia-based Baldwin Realty Co., called the proposals overkill. “This will bring development to a halt,” he said.

Maddock said the average size of new homes has doubled in the last two decades. Even in south Arcadia, where properties generally are smaller than in the newer northern area, the average size of a new home has increased from 2,000 square feet 20 years ago to 4,000 square feet today, he said.

“Most of the people in the city would not be able to rebuild the home they’re living in,” Maddock said, noting that the law would also hurt some homeowners who bought their properties with the idea of making additions.

Builder Milton Bade warned that owners of smaller lots would be penalized. “It’s OK for people with larger lots, but you’re going to crucify people with 7,500-square-foot and 8,000-square-foot lots,” he told the council.

But Jim Rostron, chairman of the Rancho Santa Anita Residents Assn.’s architectural review board, said he was strongly in favor of the restrictions and felt they should be even tighter.

“Huge homes are not harmonious or compatible with the existing neighborhood,” he said, calling some recent proposals “overpowering.”