Many of our neighbors are greatly concerned about property development in our community. The character of our neighborhood is being fundamentally and irrevocably changed - and our quality of life diminished - as a result of the trend known as mansionization (tearing down existing homes and reconstructing super-sized "McMansions" that are completely out of character and scale with an established neighborhood). We are in favor of reasonable size limits to the houses in our area, which should be in proportion to the lot size.
‘Mansionization’ generally refers to demolishing smaller, more historic single family homes and replacing them with new box-design homes that occupy the maximum amount of lot space, often dwarfing surrounding dwellings. In response to public concern, the Baseline Mansionization Ordinance was enacted in 2008 to stop widespread mansionization of many Los Angeles neighborhoods. Despite this ordinance, and many official anti-mansionization goals in city land use plans and policy documents, mansionization has continued – largely due to loopholes, bonuses and exemptions written into the ordinance. A recent LA Times article found that city-approved teardowns were 29 percent higher in 2013 than in 2012, a general indicator that mansionization is on the rise.
Other neighborhoods have undertaken ‘anti-mansionization’ efforts such as:
· petitioning to amend the (city-wide) Baseline Mansionization Ordinance to eliminate the often-abused bonuses and exemptions, and make the internal review and enforcement processes of the Department of Building Safety transparent to the public
· requesting a Residential Floor Area (RFA) Overlay District in the R1 areas, reasonably tailoring citywide size and height regulations (for single-family homes) to the particular needs of a community
Background information on other communities’ anti-mansionization efforts can be found online at www.beverlygrove.org and la.curbed.com/tags/mansionization. Some of our neighbors are seeking a means to preserve the unique character of communities and protect our quality of life by engaging and mobilizing residents around these issues. Please attend this critical meeting on March 10, to express your opinions!
‘Mansionization’ generally refers to demolishing smaller, more historic single family homes and replacing them with new box-design homes that occupy the maximum amount of lot space, often dwarfing surrounding dwellings. In response to public concern, the Baseline Mansionization Ordinance was enacted in 2008 to stop widespread mansionization of many Los Angeles neighborhoods. Despite this ordinance, and many official anti-mansionization goals in city land use plans and policy documents, mansionization has continued – largely due to loopholes, bonuses and exemptions written into the ordinance. A recent LA Times article found that city-approved teardowns were 29 percent higher in 2013 than in 2012, a general indicator that mansionization is on the rise.
Other neighborhoods have undertaken ‘anti-mansionization’ efforts such as:
· petitioning to amend the (city-wide) Baseline Mansionization Ordinance to eliminate the often-abused bonuses and exemptions, and make the internal review and enforcement processes of the Department of Building Safety transparent to the public
· requesting a Residential Floor Area (RFA) Overlay District in the R1 areas, reasonably tailoring citywide size and height regulations (for single-family homes) to the particular needs of a community
Background information on other communities’ anti-mansionization efforts can be found online at www.beverlygrove.org and la.curbed.com/tags/mansionization. Some of our neighbors are seeking a means to preserve the unique character of communities and protect our quality of life by engaging and mobilizing residents around these issues. Please attend this critical meeting on March 10, to express your opinions!