PLACENTIA : Plan to Allow Sale of Apartments Weighed

A proposal that would allow apartment complexes to be subdivided into smaller investment units will be considered by the City Council tonight.

Only complexes with 40 or more units would be affected under the plan. If passed, the amendment will permit the units to be sold in pairs to investors, who would receive an interest in common areas such as the grounds, pools, clubhouses and other shared facilities. The amendment, however, would require that the units remain renter-occupied.

The proposal as denied last month by the Planning Commission. Members of the commission said they were concerned that allowing investment apartments would result in higher rents and decrease the supply of affordable apartments.

Allowing investment apartments “would create an artificial inflationary setting,” said Gary Hill, chairman of the Planning Commission.

But Village Investments, the Irvine firm that requested the proposed amendment, says that allowing small investors to purchase two apartments would upgrade and improve older complexes without raising rents or displacing tenants.