Long Beach : Troubled Condo Project Wins Unanimous Approval
A developer who took the unusual step of filing a $1-million lawsuit against Long Beach residents who tried to block his condominium project saw his building plans unanimously approved by the City Council this week.
About two dozen residents of the newly formed Zaferia homeowners group stormed out of Tuesday’s council meeting just before the 63-unit complex was approved 7 to 0.
While some residents welcomed the building and the moderately priced condominiums it will provide, others called it an oversized intrusion in their neighborhood of quaint homes off of Pacific Coast Highway near the Traffic Circle.
The opponents circulated petitions and spoke out at public hearings to stop the project, prompting Huntington Beach developer G.M. Peters to file the $1-million suit against two of them last August.
The suit, known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP, was dropped soon after the residents hired a lawyer of their own.
The council endorsed the project after hearing from backers who said it would help relieve the city’s affordable housing crunch.
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