Hearing Postponed on Jewish Home for Aging : Zoning: Board reschedules its forum to discuss the Reseda facility’s expansion plans.

A public hearing on a request to allow the Jewish Home for the Aging to proceed with expansion plans has been postponed until May 23 because the Los Angeles Board of Zoning Appeals failed to have a quorum this week.

Homeowners living near the facility’s six-acre parcel of land at 7150 Tampa Ave. in Reseda have appealed the approval of the expansion by the city’s Office of Zoning Administration.

The proposal calls for more than 212,000 square feet of new construction at the site, including a five-story, 200-bed skilled nursing facility, a three-story board and care facility and a 238-space underground parking garage. Plans also call for adding a second story to the existing dining and kitchen building.

Five nearby single-family homes owned by the facility would also be used to house 17 residents.

In a letter-writing campaign against the expansion, nearby residents labeled the proposal as “an unlawful taking of our property based on a substantial diminishing of value.”

In a letter to the appeals board, Reseda homeowner Charlotte R. Baker wrote: “The rezoning and expansion requested . . . negatively affects the character of the neighborhood by causing the surrounding properties to lose their desirability as single-family homes. . . .

“The potential for added noise, pollution, traffic and personnel on site during demolition and reconstruction will disturb the surrounding community to an untenable degree,” the letter added.

Michael Turner, a spokesman for the home, defended the proposal as an effort to keep up with the times and with what the home sees as an expanding clientele base.

“The buildings we’re replacing have been around since the late 1940s,” Turner said. “They’ve outlived their usefulness.

“People are living longer these days. We’re looking to further serve the needs of a growing elderly population.”

According to Turner, the new construction would increase the facility’s residential capacity from 270 to 470.

Daniel Green, Los Angeles associate zoning administrator, attached a list of 36 conditions to his approval of the project in January. He ordered that the proposed five-story structure be reduced to three stories. He also required that all facility employees and service contractors park their vehicles on site and not along any adjoining streets.

The rescheduled hearing will take place at 11:15 a.m. May 23 at Los Angeles City Hall.