Walnut : Stricter Housing Criteria

The City Council has tentatively approved an “anti-mansionization” ordinance expanding the Planning Commission’s ability to reject proposed single-family homes that are architecturally incompatible with the neighborhood.

The council voted 5 to 0 Wednesday to tentatively approve an ordinance increasing the number of compatibility standards--such as color, shape, scale and mass--that a project must meet.

Planning Director George Shindo said the additional criteria would give the Planning Commission “more teeth.”

The measure also increases setbacks--the distance from a house to the street and other property borders--for homes with 4,500 square feet or more of living space, and prohibits house towers higher than 35 feet.

If it receives final approval Jan. 23, the ordinance would go into effect 30 days later.