Westside : Judge Overrules City, OKs Demolition of 17-Unit Apartment Building

Developers of the Lincoln Place housing project in Venice received two decisions Tuesday on the proposed redevelopment of the property.

Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber granted Transaction Cos. Ltd. the right to demolish a 17-unit building at Lincoln Place, a project that is made up mostly of low- and moderate-income apartments. The city had refused to issue a demolition permit for the building, so Transaction Cos. requested that the court order the city to grant the permit.

In a separate action, the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee rejected--for the second time--a master plan proposed by the company for the redevelopment of Lincoln Place. The plan would include 23% permanently affordable units and would allow all current tenants to remain at Lincoln Place and pay their current rents, said Jim Merlino, the firm’s project manager.

The court, which ruled that city officials had violated California’s open-meeting laws when they first considered the master plan, ordered the city to reconsider the developer’s proposal. The Los Angeles City Council could take up the matter as early as next week. . . .