Another frustrating night for mainly Carlson Park homeowners who, since June, have been protesting perceived overbuilding by their neighbors.
By a unanimous vote, the City Council last evening approved a round of zoning and measurement adjustments.
In responding to perhaps the loudest continuous complaint by residents, the Council made one tentative potential concession. At a future meeting, they may vote on whether to retain an independent consultant.
As Vice Mayor Andy Weissman explained, these actions were one more modest step in a complicated, lengthy process that is far from settled.
Scarcely any of this served to mollify residents. They continue to complain about alleged invasions of their privacy and their sense of aesthetics.
Partisans have asserted that what is called mansionization or overbuilding, an accused breakout or runaway by so-called overzealous developers, is a community-wide problem. As usual last evening, however, nearly every protestor (13 out of 14) was a mid-town Carlson Park homeowner.
Residents repeated their most strident pleas that seem to be resurrected at every public meeting:
- Hire an outside consultant to more objectively evaluate their plight.
- At least explore the feasibility of a moratorium.
- Undertake a unique- neighborhood-by-unique-neighborhood study of mansionization because each area historically has been claimed to be different from all others, Residents spoke sternly against what they believe is City Hall’s one-size-fits-all attitude.
- Study the solutions granted or being considered by surrounding communities, since homeowners claim overbuilding is a Southern California scourge.
Community Development Director Sol Blumenfield, answering the most commonly regurgitated charge, said his staff has researched the paths that other Los Angeles County cities have trod. But when pressed by Councilman Jim Clarke, he admitted staffers had not examined a city where a building moratorium either had been pondered or passed.
Elsewhere
Nearly two years after the storied Culver Ice Rink went dark, the Council approved a zoning change. This will allow property owner Michael Karagozian to accept two retail clients onto the once high-profile grounds.
Over the protests of residents adjacent to The Culver Studios, the Council, by 4-1, okayed three new office buildings and a multi-layered parking structure.
