Judge Warns City to Move on Housing for Elderly
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge sternly warned the city of Hidden Hills on Thursday that it must proceed with a court-ordered lower-cost housing plan for senior citizens, but stopped short of holding the city in contempt of court.
Judge R. William Schoettler, Jr. said he is prepared to order City Council members into court and keep them there “eight hours a day, five days a week” until they approve the housing plan.
Schoettler did not hold the city in contempt but left open the possibility, saying he would enforce a Feb. 5, 1992, deadline for construction to start.
The city was plunged into controversy last year when the City Council supported a plan for 46 units of senior housing on land annexed from the county. The project was part of a court order issued by Schoettler last July, when the city agreed to settle a lawsuit by the county and a private attorney over the city’s formation of a redevelopment agency to fund a flood-control project.
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