City Delays Norman Lear Request for Tennis Court Above Garage

A city zoning administrator Thursday postponed deciding whether television producer Norman Lear should be granted a height variance to build a tennis court atop his tall 21-car garage in Sullivan Canyon.

The garage, which now stands at 51 feet, far surpasses city ordinances that limit structures in the hillside area to 36 feet.

Lear wants to tack on an additional 11 feet to the structure for fencing, dressing rooms and a wet bar for the court.

In a public hearing at the West Los Angeles Municipal Building, neighbors said Lear’s project is an eyesore that has devalued their property.

“We bought our house in 1992 for the view and the solitude,” said Gene Albrecht who lives uphill from the Lears. “Now we have to look at this thing every day.”

In January, Lear won the first round of the skirmish when the Building and Safety Commission turned down an appeal by neighbors to stop work on the project, which includes a home office and gym. Officials ruled that the height stated in the original 1990 permit--45 feet--was allowable.

However, a re-measurement last month by a zoning analyst found the true height of the structure to be 51 feet.

Associate zoning administrator Lourdes Green said she wanted to tour the site herself and opened a three-week comment period to allow neighbors to document how the structure has hurt the neighborhood.