Story link: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-councilman-mansionization-20140516-story.html
Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz wants the city to tighten its rules against "mansionization" amid an outpouring of complaints about big, boxy homes overshadowing their smaller neighbors. As the economy recovers and housing values bounce back, "there's too many opportunities for developers to build these giant, blocky McMansions," Koretz said. "There's a profit motive to destroy neighborhoods." The Baseline Mansionization Ordinance was crafted six years ago to curb the size of new and remodeled homes, depending on the size of the lot they sit on. But the ordinance has sometimes fallen short of its goals because of "counterproductive provisions," Koretz wrote in a motion introduced Friday. Under the existing rules, builders can get a bonus to build 20% or 30% larger than ordinarily allowed if they design their homes to be environmentally friendly, or if they design the home so that the facades or floors fit certain proportions. Some Los Angeles homeowners argue that such bonuses have become a mansionization loophole, allowing builders to keep building homes too large for their lots. Architects and builders behind some criticized projects contend that larger homes are needed to meet the demands of modern families. Added restrictions on building size imposed by Beverly Grove and other L.A. neighborhoods worried about mansionization are too onerous, they argue. "You're putting a ceiling on what people can do with their properties," Realtor Ron Maman told The Times earlier this year. Maman said he had relocated from Beverly Grove to Encino because he couldn't expand his home for his family under the tighter neighborhood rules. In his proposal, Koretz took aim at the bonuses and other exemptions in the rules, arguing that they had continued to allow "out-of-scale" development. For instance, allowing "green" homes to be built larger ultimately encourages larger homes that use more energy, the councilman argued. "I want to examine the possibility of eliminating all of these bonuses," Koretz said Friday. His proposal will go to a council committee focused on planning. If the council ultimately approves his motion, city officials would draw up new rules for the council to approve. Former city planner and longtime Beverly Grove resident Dick Platkin, who has criticized the existing city ordinance as too loose, said he and other residents were pleased to see Koretz take the step toward altering the mansionization rules but plan to watch closely as any new rules are drafted. "Will the amendments ... be effective enough to really stop mansionization, or will it be more window dressing?" Platkin asked. Listen to the segment below:
http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2014/05/06/37293/should-los-angeles-curb-mansionization-with-tighte/ The Mayor’s Mobile Help Desk Where the City Comes to You!
The Mobile Help Desk is part of the Mayor’s efforts to make City Hall more accessible to Angelenos. Representatives from the Mayor’s Office will be available to receive suggestions and concerns while providing excellent customer service. The Mobile Help Desk will visit locations across Los Angeles twice a month in each Council District. DATE: Thursday, May 22, 2014 TIME: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm AREA: South Central COUNCIL DISTRICT: CD 10 COMMUNITY: Mid-City LOCATION: La Cienega Farmers’ Market 1801 S. La Cienega Blvd. (Corner of 18th Street) Los Angeles, CA 90035 For additional information contact: Yvonne Farrow, Event Lead MMHD, 213.978.2360 Article from LA Times about 'mansionization'. Faircrest Heights was mentioned numerous times.
Original article: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-mansionization-20140505,0,2947923.story Emily Alpert ReyesMay 4, 2014, 6:20 p.m. Six years ago, Los Angeles politicians imposed new limits on the size of new and renovated houses, promising to rein in what they called "homes on steroids" dwarfing blocks of smaller buildings. But as the housing market rebounds and construction picks up, many homeowners complain that "mansionization" has revved up — reigniting long-standing policy battles and sometimes bitter fence fights over the face and feel of L.A.'s neighborhoods. Builders are snapping up smaller, older homes, razing them and replacing them with bigger dwellings. Increasingly, sleek, square structures are popping up along streets known for quaint bungalows. Architects and designers behind such projects — and the buyers and homeowners they build for — argue that larger homes are needed to meet the demands of modern families. But neighborhood groups have begun mobilizing, asserting that rules meant to control building sizes are still too porous. Critics argue that builders have exploited loopholes — bonuses that allow extra square footage — to erect homes too large for their lots. The recent surge of complaints prompted Michael LoGrande, director of the Department of City Planning, to tell lawmakers that more stringent controls might be needed. In Hollywood, for example, members of a neighborhood group objected to a spec home exceeding 3,000 square feet, being built on a Stanley Avenue block lined with older, smaller homes — most of them under 2,000 square feet. Aggravated by the "out of place, enormous" residence, Amy Aquino of the Sunset Square Neighborhood Assn. said the group hired a land-use consultant to examine how it was allowed. "Everything they were doing, hideous as it is, is all completely legal," Aquino said. The builder behind the home, Amnon Edri, said that as long as his project meets requirements, it shouldn't be a problem. "If the city code allows it, and you want a bigger house, you have the right to a bigger house," he said. "This is America. It's a free country." Neighbors pushing for stricter rules fear that outsized, out-of-character buildings will drag down their home values. Edri and others maintain that bigger homes boost prices for their neighbors. The tensions also reflect clashing expectations of Los Angeles living. For decades there was "kind of a consensus about what a Southern California house should look like" — low, rambling and open to the landscape, cultural historian D.J. Waldie said. That philosophy, along with requirements imposed by builders, gave rise to uniform neighborhoods lined with homes of similar sizes and styles, Waldie said. But in a growing city with scant undeveloped land and changing tastes, some Angelenos see things differently. They look at older neighborhoods and think, "'this is where the good life is lived,'" Waldie said. "'But I don't want to live in a 1,300-square-foot house.'" The Baseline Mansionization Ordinance was approved in 2008 as the city was slipping into the housing slump. It was meant to stop homes from expanding, as Councilman Tom LaBonge put it, "like the Pillsbury Doughboy." Under the new rules, a 5,000-square-foot lot in a typical residential zone generally could not have a home of more than 2,500 square feet of "residential floor area," including extra buildings — or a total of 50% of the lot size. Before the change, a home of up to 7,000 square feet, not including garages, could be built on the same size lot, according to the planning department. But the law includes special exceptions. Builders can get a bonus to build 20% or 30% larger than ordinarily allowed if they design their homes to be environmentally friendly, or if they adhere to certain scaling requirements of home facades and upper floors. The home Edri is building on Stanley Avenue, for example, was allowed hundreds of feet of additional floor area because part of the facade was recessed, according to its building permit. Critics point out that some construction that can bulk up the appearance of residences isn't counted against the size limits. Up to 400 square feet of "covered parking area" can be excluded from city calculations, for example. Such exceptions and other bonuses "effectively gutted the ordinance that was supposed to stop mansionization," said former city planner Dick Platkin, a longtime Beverly Grove resident. He called for the elimination of "little architectural gimmicks that still allow a large, boxy house to be built." In his Westside neighborhood and in Studio City in the Valley, where frustration has simmered over such buildings, homeowners successfully campaigned to impose tighter restrictions on home size. Some argue that similar restrictions should be adopted citywide. That alarms some builders, architects and homeowners. "What happened in Beverly Grove was basically a death sentence to development and real estate in the area," said Eran Gispan, a designer with N.E. Designs Inc. Similar restrictions citywide would "kill the market completely," he said. Architect Daniel Bibawi said that since the tighter Beverly Grove building limits were approved last year, his firm hasn't had any projects in the area. The families that hire him typically want at least five bedrooms to accommodate two children, a master bedroom, a guest room and an office, he said. "It's become a real bear to deal with, from the design point of view," he said. "People hire you to build what they want. But then you have to tell them — they can't have what they want." In the Mid-City neighborhood of Faircrest Heights, homeowners are going door to door with petitions against "super-sized homes." Kathleen Clark and Beth Marlis point to a neighboring Pickford Street house, now undergoing a renovation that roughly doubles its size, which they say blocks their sunset views. The two trucked in grown trees to try to preserve the privacy of their yard. "They said, 'It's going to be green, it's going to make your house worth more ... it's going to make your neighborhood better,'" Marlis said. "Far from it." Under the basic provisions of the anti-mansionization ordinance, the Pickford Street home would be limited to a residential floor area of 1,450 square feet. Owner Jerome Hunter said he was able to increase the approved area to 1,885 square feet by incorporating green construction techniques and technologies, including LED lights and an efficient air conditioner. "It's not like I'm building a mansion," Hunter said. If the rules were any tighter, "It wouldn't be worth living here. I'd rent it out. "And you think the property values would be better if there was a renter?" he said. "I'm increasing the value of their property. I don't understand the problem." Mansionization critics contend that under stricter rules, builders could still craft larger homes without blocking light and boxing in neighbors. "None of us are opposed to expansion and development — when it's respectful of the neighborhood," said Traci Considine, part of the Neighbors United group in Faircrest Heights. Farther north, Bob Eisele, vice president of the La Brea Hancock Homeowners Assn., said real estate agents are making cash offers and targeting "the rundown homes and the homes of the elderly." If "huge, ugly boxes" keep popping up, he argued, "these homes won't be salable for anything but tear-downs." But Realtor Ron Maman, who moved from Beverly Grove to Encino because he couldn't expand his home for his family, countered that tighter restrictions would hurt home values. "You're putting a ceiling on what people can do with their properties," he said. Some city leaders believe changes are due: Councilman Paul Koretz said the rules adopted six years ago are too weak. He's considering proposing stricter citywide rules or pursuing tighter building controls as part of a pilot project in his Westside district. The anti-mansionization rules were "groundbreaking" when first imposed, said Alan Bell, the city's deputy director of planning. But as construction rebounds, the swelling number of neighborhoods seeking tighter rules for their areas "suggests that the ordinance could definitely use some fine-tuning," he said. The following incident was posted on Nextdoor by the Picfair Village. We'd like to share this information with everyone at Faircrest Heights. Please be vigilant and watch out for each other. For full discussion thread, sign up on https://faircrestheights.nextdoor.com
INCIDENT: "This morning at around 10:30-ish, a young man came to my door. After pacing up and down Pickford at least twice, he came around to the front of the property; ignored our “wet paint” sign; trotted up onto our newly refinished porch; knocked on the front door and, when that got no immediate response, started loudly banging on an adjacent window. Here’s the strangest part, though: He had a cell phone to his ear, but kept repeatedly asking me if there was a “Jeffrey” here. When I said no, he said something into the cell phone, turned and started walking away from the house fairly quickly. He didn’t stop at any other houses but kept walking at a fast pace down the block, headed toward Hauser on Pickford." RESPONSE FROM SENIOR LEAD OFFICER ADAM GREEN: "This is how it happens: They're casing houses for potential burglary targets in your area. They either live in the community or they are driven through by a partner. Someone will drive in, and drop the partner off at a corner or down the block. The person gets out, knocks doors, rings doorbells, bangs on windows. If there is no answer, he gets on his cell phone, calls his buddy and advises him, 'I am going to break in.' The whole time the burglar is inside, he is letting other guy know to be on lookout; that’s exactly what happened to you. He tested your home. Go ahead advise everybody on NextDoor to watch for that individual." |
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