Builder Agrees to Scale Back Project : Development: Residents fought 22-unit condominium complex for six years. They call the 17-unit compromise a victory.

For nearly six years, residents of an aging, single-family neighborhood in eastern Highland Park have fought a hillside condominium project that they feared would open the way for a flood of similar developments.

They testified at city hearings. They formed a neighborhood association. They hired consultants.

Now the battle appears over, and the residents have made a difference.

Although the Los Angeles City Council approved a 22-unit project for the tree-topped hillside in 1986, developer William Yang recently agreed to scale it back to 17 units. He has also agreed to consider design revisions so the project will be better integrated into the community.

Although a reduction of five units might not seem like much reward for a six-year battle, the residents consider the agreement “a moral victory” that will be noticed by the city and other prospective developers.

“We feel that we have sent out a message to this developer and other developers that we are not going to just allow any developer to come in and treat us badly to make a fast buck,” said Michelle Minch, 36, who sits on the steering committee of the Arroyo Neighborhood Assn., which was created last year as part of the struggle.

Minch said the struggle has also produced a strong sense of community among the neighborhood residents.

“We’ve discovered our neighbors,” she said. “I can knock on any one of 20 doors and know the people’s names, and they will know mine.”

The battle against the project was an exercise in persistence, even when it appeared that the cause was lost.

The original developer, Michael Simms, in 1985 proposed building 35 one- and two-story condominiums on a slice of undeveloped hillside at the end of Avenue 66. Neighbors quickly dubbed the project the “dirt-haul condos” because of Simms’ plans to haul 75,000 cubic yards of dirt from the site as part of the project.

Minch said the residents “knew nothing about the city planning process” but feared that the project would pave the way for many of the homes in the neighborhood to be torn down and replaced with apartments. They were determined not to let that happen.

“We organized as best we could,” she said. Minch called a meeting in February, 1986, which drew nearly 250 people from the surrounding area. Most expressed strong opposition to the proposal. Bolstered by the community support, Minch and other neighborhood leaders attended city hearings to voice their concerns about the project.

A city planner initially agreed that the proposed project was “insensitive and out of character with the surrounding neighborhood,” and recommended that it be limited to 17 single-story, detached units that would appear to be single-family homes, city records show.

But Simms appealed to the Planning Commission for permission to build 22 one- and two-story units, saying it was not economically feasible for him to build just 17 single-story units. The Planning Commission approved the request and sent it to the City Council.

Minch and her neighbors pleaded with council members to adopt the city planner’s recommendation. But in Minch’s view, she and her neighbors were treated like “bothersome little children, or an insect that could be brushed away.”

City Councilman Richard Alatorre, who represents the area, supported the project, and the council gave the 22-unit proposal its endorsement in December, 1986.

Building did not start, however, and in October, 1988, Simms sold the property to Yang.

In June, 1990, the city called for a public hearing over a proposed haul route--the route that the developer would use to haul the dirt away from the site.

Minch, sensing this would be the last chance, called for the community to form an official group, which she said would give the neighborhood “legitimacy in the eyes of the city.”

More than 150 people attended the community meeting at which the Arroyo Neighborhood Assn. was born. A steering committee was elected, and dues were collected.

Minch’s strategy apparently paid off.

After the group was organized, Alatorre’s planning deputy requested a delay in the hearing so the developer could negotiate with the neighbors over the size of the project.

Steve Catalano, a spokesman for Yang, said Yang had no idea there was opposition to the project when he bought the land and its entitlements from Simms.

Under pressure from Alatorre and fearing further delays, Yang agreed to limit the project to 17 units at a meeting in Alatorre’s office earlier this month.

Diego Cardoso, Alatorre’s planning deputy, said the councilman’s change of position stemmed from a new emphasis on managed growth.

When the project was first proposed, Alatorre’s priority was on new housing for his district, Cardoso said. But now, he said, the councilman is also concerned with thoughtful development that takes into account the existing neighborhood conditions.

Still, Cardoso conceded that Alatorre probably never would have paid much attention to the condominium proposal had it not been for the community opposition.

“You should never rely on the city to take care of your neighborhood,” he said. “You’ve got to be protective.”

Robert Mendel, a member of the association’s steering committee, said the leaders hope to keep the group from disintegrating.

“People are apathetic by nature,” Mendel said. “They come here to sleep. They don’t want to dig in their heels and fight. But we as citizens basically have to take on a second part-time job to preserve our neighborhoods, because our government doesn’t do it for us.”

Minch and Mendel both said they plan to continue monitoring the project to see that Yang fulfills his promises. But now that the debate on the project is mostly over, they said they hope the association will branch out to monitor other developments and address other community issues, such as crime and gangs.

Charlie Fisher of the Highland Park Neighborhood Assn., an umbrella organization for local community groups, said he hopes the group of now politically savvy residents will continue to be active in the community.

He predicted that developers will soon be looking with new interest at the eastern edge of Highland Park after the heart of the community becomes a historic preservation overlay zone--which would impose more stringent rules on development. The city is in the process of creating the zone.

“They’re going to have to be careful to guard the historic character of that neighborhood because they are going to be under development pressure,” Fisher said. “They can watch out for the future of their neighborhood. When future problems come up, they are there.”