House Is Too High, City Says : Home Had Council’s OK, Now Must Shrink
Emad Ali Hassan’s dream home turned into a nightmare for him early Wednesday, when the City Council ordered him to tear off the top level of his three-story custom residence because it exceeds the city’s height limit.
Since the home was built in 1985--with city approval--it has become a hotbed of legal debate, pitted two neighbors against each other in a bitter and costly feud, and divided city officials.
A state appellate court last year ruled that the city had erred in originally approving Hassan’s home because it exceeded the city’s 30-foot height limit and obstructed neighbors’ ocean views. To correct the matter, the court ordered the city to either grant Hassan a code variance or order him to lower the height of his home.
After a public hearing of nearly three hours that began late Tuesday night, the council voted 4 to 3 at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday to reject Hassan’s request for the code variance.
The home in 1985 had been measured at 39 feet. Under current city guidelines, the home today is considered 36 feet tall, so the city will order Hassan to lop 6 feet off the top of his lavish residence.
Slicing 6 feet from his home would chop the third floor in half, so the council ruling effectively orders Hassan to either remove his entire top floor or redesign his house.
Hassan was enraged by the council’s decision. He said after the meeting that he plans to sue the city for first approving his home and then ordering him to tear part of it down.
“They will tear this house down over my dead body,” Hassan fumed after the council’s decision. “They’ll never touch it.”
The city originally approved the home by applying the municipal uniform building code rather than the stricter standard zoning code. Under the rarely used building code, the home’s height was considered legal. Hassan’s home is built on a slope, so its height can be calculated in different ways. The zoning code limits buildings to 30 feet, measured from the lowest point of the ground--in Hassan’s case, the bottom of the slope. The uniform building code does not state a specific height limit, but measures buildings from the highest point of the ground, or the top of the slope.
Hassan’s neighbor, Charles Reince, protested because the structure blocks a portion of his ocean view. Reince, who said an independent appraiser in 1988 determined that his property value had plunged by $50,000 to about $535,000 because of the obstructed view, sued the city, charging that it had improperly used the uniform building code to permit construction of Hassan’s home.
An Orange County Superior Court judge in 1988 upheld the city’s decision. But last March, the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned that ruling, agreeing with Reince’s claim that the uniform building code may not be applied. That left the City Council to straighten out the matter.
Council members on both sides of the issue said they did not consider Hassan’s legal threat in reaching their decision.
“Mr. Hassan relied upon the approval given by the city,” Councilman Earle Robitaille said. “We are the party at fault here. The problem is how do you handle that? I think (the house) has to be modified to meet the code that should have been applied to it at the time it was built.”
Hassan vehemently disagreed.
“I can’t see how the city can go back on their word and say my house is illegal,” he said. “They didn’t give me a permit out of ignorance, but after lengthy study. I’m just a victim of circumstances. But I’m sure my house is not going to go down and that justice will prevail. I definitely will win (a lawsuit). There is no doubt in my mind, because I have done everything according to the law.”
Before the council’s vote, City Atty. Gail C. Hutton said she believes that the city may be exempted from any legal challenge because the appellate court did not grant Hassan any vested right to keep his home. She acknowledged, however, that “we cannot be 100% certain” the city is safe from a legal threat.
“This is a very, very unfortunate situation,” she said. “I was personally torn by the dilemma the council and the two warring parties faced. It was one of those decisions in which it would have been nice if you could be Solomon. Because no matter which way the council voted, I’m sure one side or the other would carry the battle forward.”
In rejecting Hassan’s request to allow his home to stand, council members noted that to grant a code variance, they must first determine that special circumstances justify waiving city zoning regulations. The fact that Hassan’s home is already built does not constitute such a circumstance, they said.
By allowing the home to remain as it is, “we would be required to grant a special privilege to one property owner, and that variance request would be injurious to other residents in the area,” Councilwoman Grace Winchell said.
In addition to Reince, more than 100 residents in and around Hassan’s upscale neighborhood signed a petition opposing his home, which some have referred to as “the Taj Mahal” and “a monstrous hotel.”
Opponents said that the home blocked their views and that its design and size are not compatible with the rest of the housing tract on Warner Avenue, across from Huntington Harbour.
“The problem we’re facing is (city officials) breaking the rules,” opposing neighbor Donna Klein told the council. “You make the rules, you change the rules, and then you (consider) breaking the rules. That’s why people are fighting back. You need to correct your mistake and make the people on this side of the podium proud of what you’re doing.”
Reince said Wednesday that he was relieved that the legal dispute, which has cost him more than $250,000, appeared to be over.
He added that he believes that Hassan knew all along that his home was illegally built, “so that diminishes my sympathy for him somewhat. But I hate to see this happen to anybody. It’s not my nature” to be vindictive.
Chop the Top
By a 4-3 vote, the Huntington Beach City Council ordered homeowner Emad Ali Hassan to lop off 6 feet from the top of his custom residence.
* The city had approved Hassan’s permit to build the home in 1985, but a state appellate court later ruled that Huntington Beach applied the wrong municipal code in approving the permit.
* Hassan’s neighbors also charged that the home, which exceeds the city’s 30-foot height limit, blocks their ocean views and reduces their property values.
* Hassan vowed to take the city to court, promising that the city would win “over my dead body.”
