Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
By LILY TINOCO | Reporter
The Pacific Palisades Community Council Land Use Committee held a discussion regarding zoning regulations for residential properties in Pacific Palisades that are zoned R1 one-family, located in the coastal zone and designated as non-hillside, and to collect public input, at its January 11 meeting.
Chair of the PPCC LUC Howard Robinson said the issue has been around a long time, particularly catalyzed by the construction of a house on Marquez Avenue, which received a coastal development permit in 2017.
Dozens of neighbors expressed through emails and discussions during organizational meetings that they did not wish to see a project they feel contradicts the mass, scale and character of their community.
A notice to stop construction and a notice of intent to revoke the building permit was issued on March 3, 2021, by the Department of Building and Safety, but the order did not indicate that the building height constituted a code violation. The owner was able to address its questions and make minor design changes.
The permit was reinstated in June, and construction continued.
Robinson said neighbors’ concerns triggered an investigation but the PPCC LUC found that the zoning was “proper,” the home was built according to code and nothing could have been done—but it was a “wake-up call” to him and others.
“We went to the next step, what is the zoning? And what is the history of the zoning?” Robinson said. “We found out that the zoning in this particular area, the lower Marquez area and a few other spots in the Palisades … is an old-fashioned set of development standards.”
Robinson explained the standards date back to the 1970s and beyond, and as the city developed more modernized development standards, certain areas were excluded, including those in the Palisades.
He said it was important to gather the community’s thoughts, understand the public’s opinions and form a plan of action in response.
Based on a poll conducted during the meeting, the LUC found 100% of voters were in favor of stricter zoning regulations.
Robinson made a motion that recommends the PPCC Board pursues action by the city to close the current zoning loophole which allows incompatible homes in certain areas of the Palisades, and to extend the current Baseline Mansionization Ordinance provisions into those eligible areas.
“The committee felt this should be an interim measure until the Brentwood-Pacific Palisades Community Plan can be updated and/or a Local Coastal Program can be put in place,” according to the report.
The LUC unanimously passed the motion for recommendation to the PPCC board, and the PPCC board voted unanimously to adopt the LUC’s recommendation at its Thursday, January 13, meeting.
PPCC said a position letter will be sent and they plan to follow-up with city officials to move forward as quickly as possible.
For more information and to view LUC’s documents, visit pacpalicc.org.
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