City denies permit for Elephant Hill developer
The City Council denied a permit Wednesday to an El Sereno developer who sought to build roads and storm drains for a planned subdivision on Elephant Hill, a 110-acre site billed as the last significant open space in northeast Los Angeles.
The council’s vote reversed a decision by the Board of Public Works approving the permits. Councilman Jose Huizar, who represents El Sereno, said no work could be performed on the site until the developer completed a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report on the project.
Environmentalists and neighborhood groups have spent years trying to block development on Elephant Hill. Ben Reznik, an attorney for the developer, alleged that the council did not have legal grounds for denying the permit.
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