TUSTIN : Project’s Fate Now in Council’s Hands

A difficult decision about a controversial apartment complex is back before the City Council after the developer and neighbors met for a second time to try to reach a compromise and failed.

“There was no movement,” said Christine Shingleton, director of the city’s Community Development Department.

The 11-unit, 2 1/2-story Pasadena Avenue apartment complex is nearly completed, but work on it stopped several months ago when a battle erupted among the developer, the neighbors and the city.

The city revoked the developer’s building permit when it was discovered that 17 property owners near the project were never notified of the public hearing about it. Many of those property owners complained that the apartments overlook their homes, destroy their privacy and reduce their property values.

The developer’s attorney, Joel Ward, has estimated that his client is losing $1,000 a day while the project sits uncompleted.

On April 30, the Planning Commission denied a new permit for the project, and developer Feridoun Rezai appealed the decision. Since then, the council has ordered two meetings between the developer and the neighbors in an attempt to avoid costly lawsuits from one or both sides.

If the council upholds the Planning Commission’s decision, Rezai must remove the upper story of the project or the city will begin a process to require demolition, Shingleton said.