Villaraigosa signs law limiting building on hillside lots
LAW: Ordinance should end building of oversize mansions on small lots.
Addressing growing complaints over the the construction of massive homes on small lots, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday signed into law a measure limiting what can be built on hillside lots.
"All of us who have lived on hillsides appreciate the beauty of it," Villaraigosa said. "But we also saw how a neighborhood could be completely destroyed by a box that was too big for a lot.
"A box that was completely out of step with the neighborhood. These boxes that are so out of character."
The measure, which will take effect in 30 days, places limits on the size of developments on the lots, many of which were laid out more than 50 years ago.
"We still have more to do," said Carol Sidlow of the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council as well as Lookout Mountain of Laurel Canyon. "We need a measure to protect ridges. We need a new law on retaining walls.
"This is important. As Will Rogers said, this is our land and they aren't making any more of it. If you look at the San Gabriels, you see pristine hillside. If you look at the Hollywood Hills, you see what 25 years of overdevelopment has done."
Councilman Tom LaBonge, who was among a number of officials who first proposed the hillside measure in 2006, said he was pleased to see the final action on the measure.
"We all come from neighborhoods," LaBonge said. "There is nothing more important than protecting our neighborhoods. And we have to stop those who
want to come along and build these boxes that threaten our neighborhoods."We have achieved something where we will prevent these big boxes from taking over a neighborhood."
With the measure, the city will be able to determine the maximum development allowed for any property based on its size, zone and steepness of the property.
Also, the city can determine a minimum amount allowed on a property, consider differences in hillside lots and change how it measures the height allowed based on the slope of the property.
Councilman Paul Koretz, who also supported the measure, said the hillsides represent "the last bastion of open space.
"But that same open space has long been under increasing threat as pressure for further development has pushed its way further out and up," Koretz said.
Gerald Silver, president of the Homeowners of Encino, said the new measure addresses a problem that has been years in the making.
"This has been a huge issue for the hillsides," Silver said. "The problem is people were building homes that were too large for the lots and dominated a neighborhood."
The original measures covered the size of buildings allowed on lots in the flatlands as studies continued on the best way to deal with hillsides.
"What this does is make sure that people aren't building homes out of character with a neighborhood," Silver said.
Planning Director Michael LoGrande called the measure a major step forward.
"It will help us protect our hillsides and ensure that development conforms to the land, instead of the land conforming to the development," LoGrande said.
Ashley Greene Tamala Jones Anna Kournikova Katie Cassidy Diora Baird