Council OKs Permit for 45,000-Square-Foot Home

The City Council dealt a blow to hillside homeowners Wednesday when lawmakers approved the development of a Benedict Canyon home bigger than the White House and larger than many supermarkets.

The proposed 45,000-square-foot Mediterranean villa in the 1600 block of Tower Grove Drive, owned by Herbalife International owner Mark Hughes, required an exemption to the city’s hillside ordinance because it exceeds the height limit for the area.

Hillside homeowners in Benedict Canyon and other parts of the city complained that exempting the development from the law could be precedent-setting and pave the way for other exemptions.

Seven council members agreed with that assessment, including Councilman Mike Feuer, whose district includes the area, but they could not sway a council majority.

At one point in the proceedings, Feuer appeared to have won the support of a majority, but Alex Padilla changed his vote after the lobbyist for the project, Ben Reznik--who also was a major fund-raiser for Padilla’s recent election--shouted from the sidelines that the councilman had inadvertently voted against the project. Padilla was then allowed to change his vote, and the project won its height exemption.

The house already faces a legal battle; the Benedict Canyon Homeowners Assn. and others have filed a lawsuit demanding that the zoning administrator revoke the height exemption.

As proposed, the $50-million home would have 25 rooms, a million-gallon pond and a tennis pavilion.