Council OKs Building Ban in Studio City Hills

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday adopted a temporary moratorium on permits to build houses in a hilly area of Studio City where residents say narrow streets are already clogged with developers’ construction equipment.

The ban was introduced by Councilman Michael Woo, who represents the area. Affected by the action are applications to build on Avenida del Sol and Alta Mesa Drive, where residents complain that they often cannot get to or from their homes because their streets are blocked by construction vehicles and workers’ cars.

Woo’s plan also calls for city traffic enforcement officers to make daily, unscheduled inspections and for the city Department of Transportation to deploy a special unit to the area daily to coordinate construction traffic to “ensure mail delivery, garbage pickup and emergency access.”