Palmdale Sees Return of Apartments

For the first time since Palmdale lifted its two-year ban on new apartments, a developer has stepped forward with plans for a complex in the heart of Rancho Vista, an affluent neighborhood of single-family homes.

Developer Andrew J. Eliopulos of Lancaster has promised that his $3.6-million complex of 90 apartments will be classy, with tile roofs and attractive landscaping. The proposal calls for 10 apartment buildings and a community center.

But opponents say they fear increased crime, decreasing property values and overburdened schools.

They remember the glut of apartments built during the 1980s, when land was cheap and development was rampant. And they remember when recession hit the next decade, and whole neighborhoods fell into disrepair because landlords couldn’t afford to keep up their buildings.

By 1992, neighboring Lancaster was spending millions to raze run-down apartments in a project called Operation High Desert Storm.

Seven years later, both Palmdale and Lancaster had imposed moratoriums on apartments in order to tighten their zoning laws and limit the number of neighborhoods where apartments were allowed.

The Lancaster ban was lifted in 2000 and Palmdale’s was lifted last year. The proposed apartment complex, which would be on six acres at Rancho Vista Boulevard and Avenue O-8, is allowed based on the neighborhood’s current density limits.

The city staff has recommended that the Planning Commission approve the project at its next meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. today at City Hall.

Some residents who oppose the plan have been passing out fliers, printing anti-apartment T-shirts and going door-to-door drumming up support.

Homeowner Will Aitchison, 35, has been at the forefront of the anti-apartment fight. He moved to Palmdale five years ago after deciding Van Nuys was too dense--and too unsafe--for raising children.

“I’ve got three kids under 5, and I’m really concerned about this,” he said.

Planning Commissioner Robert “Bo” Bynum said he hasn’t decided how he will vote.

But he also is worried about crowding at the schools, citing a letter from the Westside Union School District that there is “no room left in existing schools” to absorb new growth.

The apartment proposal comes as lawmakers around the state are being asked to rethink urban planning strategies.

With Southern California expected to grow from about 16 million to nearly 22 million people in the next 20 years, planners at the Southern California Assn. of Governments are pushing for plans that increase density in urban centers--plans they believe will cut commutes and reduce sprawl. Gov. Gray Davis supports a controversial bill in the state Senate that would offer incentives to local governments who set such goals.

Once a dusty outpost of alfalfa farms and ranches, the commuter suburb of Palmdale has grown into an urban center of its own, with a population 116,000. Many were lured by the promise of affordable homeownership, and houses remain the norm: Just 20% of the city’s 40,000 dwellings are multifamily units.

Eliopulos said he also is considering building a 200-unit complex in the neighborhood.