Montebello Puts Limits on Construction of Housing
City Council members, saying they are concerned that outdated zoning laws and low-quality development may cause uncontrollable population increases, this week passed a yearlong moratorium restricting certain kinds of housing in some residential areas.
The council on Tuesday unanimously voted to set limitations on multifamily projects, such as duplexes, apartments and condominiums, built in residential areas.
During the last two years, an increasing number of developers have built apartments in neighborhoods of mostly single-family homes, which is allowed under current zoning laws. But residents and city leaders fear that unless measures are taken to curb growth, water and sewer systems could be strained, traffic increased and the character of some neighborhoods destroyed.
“We just want to take precautions,” said Councilwoman Kathy Salazar. “Our town has not become a town where a ton of developers come in and tear the place apart. We just want to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
The moratorium will limit the number of units in new multifamily projects to one unit per 3,000 square feet, will reduce the maximum height from 45 feet to 25 feet and will require all projects of three or more units to be submitted to the planning commission for review.
Councilman Bill Molinari called the moratorium the “breathing space” the city needs to examine current zoning to determine whether it agrees with the General Plan. It will help the council determine ways to limit the increasing number of apartment projects.
The city issued building permits for 12 multifamily projects in 1988 and 18 in 1989. During the first two months of this year, the city received building-permit applications for 12 such projects. According to projections by the city Planning Department, if the rate of application is consistent, by the end of the year, the city would receive 72 multifamily project applications. Most would be three-unit apartments, according to the staff. Molinari said developers are using the same plan for the three-unit projects.
“It’s cookie-cutter development,” he said. “They are all just the same unit over and over again. One building has minimal impact, but when it starts to become 10, 20, 100, then it builds an atmosphere that is very unattractive. It has a great impact on the quality of life in the community.”
Molinari cites the Holger Street controversy as an example of development that has severely affected a neighborhood.
The Holger Street neighborhood is small, quiet and immaculate. For years, it was separated from the noise of Beverly Boulevard by an open field between Holger Street and Beverly Boulevard. Last year, however, a developer built about 40 three-bedroom, two-story condominiums on the lot. They loom over the south side of Holger Street, and residents of the condominiums have a clear view of the back yards of at least 10 homes.
Holger Street residents were furious because they said city leaders had been cavalier about how their privacy would be impacted. Some residents are still upset.
“I don’t want to live here anymore,” said Maria Velasco, whose back yard and swimming pool are in clear view of the units. “If I had known they were going to do this, my husband and I would not have invested so much in this house. It was my privacy. It was my back yard. Who is going to give that back to me?”
The problems on Holger Street were created because a zone that allows for multifamily residential units abutted a zone that called for single-family residential, said Marianne Cordova, associate planning director.
While the moratorium is in place, the city will examine the areas where such zoning exists and will also look at areas that are zoned for multifamily residential but are occupied by single-family residential, Cordova said. If necessary, the city will amend the zoning code so it reflects the neighborhood, she said.
There are several areas of town where zoning juxtapositions exist. During the city’s early development, many areas were zoned for multifamily residential. In a multifamily residential, single-family homes can be built, and in those days, many were.
Problems were not created until California’s housing prices soared. Suddenly apartments became the only thing families could afford, Cordova said. When that happened, single-family homes were no longer vacated and replaced by another single-family home, she said. Now developers rush in, level homes and build apartments. With apartments come more people, more traffic and more strain on the city’s infrastructure, she said.
