Monterey Park : No Exemption for Builder
Saying they did not want to tamper with a voter-approved law, City Council members on Monday narrowly rejected a developer’s request to be exempted from a 1990 slow-growth measure.
Developer Aven Tuan’s proposal--a 10-unit condominium on South Garfield Avenue--was previously exempt from Measure S because it was submitted before voters passed the law. But Tuan missed an April, 1990, deadline for obtaining building permits, and now falls under the slow-growth law, which sets annual limits on residential construction.
Council members Fred Balderrama, Judy Chu and Sam Kiang voted to change Measure S to give Tuan more time to apply for permits, but Mayor Betty Couch and Councilwoman Marie T. Purvis objected. Four votes are needed to amend the City Code.
About 10 people, including two former council members, spoke against the exemption.
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