Builders of 28 Projects in Inglewood Angry as Permits Fall Through

Area developers reacted angrily this week to the Inglewood City Council’s decision Tuesday to temporarily deny building permits for 28 apartment and condominium projects that were not affected by an earlier moratorium.

The moratorium--approved last August and extended for a year in October--prohibited accepting new plans for multifamily projects in the high-density R-3, R-4 and P-1 zones. The moratorium did not, however, affect about 60 projects for which plans already had been submitted to the city, officials said.

The new measure would extend that ban for 45 days to projects that have yet to receive building permits, even if plans for them already have been filed. At the end of the 45 days, the city is required to hold a public hearing to consider whether to extend the ban for up to a year, city officials said.

Of the about 60 projects, the measure halts 28 that were in the planning process at the time of the moratorium. The others either were dropped or have building permits.

“I’m going to be substantially killed” by the 45-day delay, said developer Alan Foerder of Manhattan Beach, who has two seven-unit condominiums planned for North Hillcrest Boulevard. When informed of the council’s vote, he said he may lose “thousands and thousands of dollars.”

City officials said they received telephone calls from concerned developers Wednesday who had not anticipated the new ban. Councilman Anthony Scardenzan introduced the measure Friday, city officials said.

Of the 28 affected projects, city officials estimated that about half would not have been built because of financing difficulties or other problems. The 28 projects, containing more than 200 apartment or condominium units, range from a one-unit addition to a 24-unit apartment house.

One of the affected projects has been in the city’s planning process for more than two years, city officials said. Eight others were submitted to the city’s Community Development and Housing Department in 1988, and the remaining 19 were submitted in 1989 before the moratorium took effect.

Scardenzan said the ban on building permits is needed to stop further congestion while city officials study long-term methods of controlling growth in residential neighborhoods. He said most of the apartment and condominium construction has been in council Districts 2 and 3 in the city’s northern and western sections.

Mayor Edward Vincent and Councilmen Jose Fernandez and Daniel Tabor supported Scardenzan’s resolution, and 4th District Councilman Garland Hardeman voted against it, saying the projects planned for his district were needed.

Last year, the city tightened development standards for multifamily units through stricter requirements on height, setback and density. But residents complained that those measures failed to prevent developers from buying up single-family homes and replacing them with apartments and condominiums. The residents argued that overdevelopment brings crime, trash and traffic congestion.